The "metabolically-obese," normal-weight individual

Abstract

A great many disorders including maturity-onset (type II) diabetes, hypertension, and hypertriglyceridemia are frequently associated with adult-onset obesity and improve with caloric restriction. It is the premise of this brief review that there are patients with these disorders who are not obese according to standard weight tables or other readily-available criteria; but who would also respond favorably to caloric restriction. It is proposed that such individuals might be characterized by hyperinsulinism and possibly an increase in fat cell size compared to patients of similar age, height, and weight and/or to themselves at an earlier time. The possibility is also discussed that inactivity is a contributing factor in some of these individuals and that for them, the appropriate therapy might be exercise.