We all know that it is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disorders and diabetes, among other ailments, a scourge of advanced societies , but what exactly do we call obesity? Normally, the measuring stick is the so-called Body Mass Index , whose formula (weight in kilos divided by height in meters squared) is in the public domain. If our BMI is higher than 30, we will be in the territories of obesity. However, this “gold standard” of extra kilos has been strongly questioned by the scientific community .
Now, a pioneering work coordinated by Francisco B. Ortega, Ramón y Cajal researcher at the Faculty of Sports Sciences at the University of Granada, “redefines” the established concept. The study, published in the North American journal Mayo Clinic Proceeding , consisted of following 60,000 people for 15 years to establish the link between obesity and the probability of dying from cardiovascular disease. The difference with other research is that not only the amount of fat present in the body of individuals has been recorded, but also the volume of muscle. For this, the skin folds were measured and hydrostatic weighings were carried out – carried out in water tanks – in half of the participants.
A priori, the authors of the research considered the validity of the BMI, since perhaps only body fat would have to be taken into account as a risk factor for health, a widely held opinion. But to his surprise, the total BMI works as a more powerful predictor of mortality than if only the fat percentage in the body of the individuals studied was taken into account. “We planned that a hypothesis would be that not only large amounts of fat are associated with greater risk, but also muscle or non-fat mass ,” explained Ortega.
