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Taking a closer look at metabolically healthy obesity

Whether or not there is a form of healthy obesity remains controversial. Contemporary imaging techniques might help answer this question. It is proposed that low levels of visceral adipose tissue and ectopic adipose tissue combined with a preferential accumulation of gluteal and femoral adipose tissue might define a ‘super healthy obesity’ phenotype.

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Fig. 1: The ‘super healthy overweight or obese’ phenotype.

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Acknowledgements

J.-P.D. is the Scientific Director of the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk supported by the Fondation de l’Université Laval. Research from J.-P.D. is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (Foundation grant FDN-167278), as well as by the Foundation of the Québec Heart and Lung Institute.

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Correspondence to Jean-Pierre Després.

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Després, JP. Taking a closer look at metabolically healthy obesity. Nat Rev Endocrinol 18, 131–132 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-021-00619-6

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