You can be obese and metabolically healthy

Give credit to your mitochondria

Couple walking
(Image credit: (Courtesy Shutterstock))

Here's some welcome news for the 35 percent of Americans who are obese: That extra weight does not automatically translate to a host of health problems. Indeed, doctors are focusing on the small but significant population of otherwise healthy people with a body-mass index (BMI) over 30 to study the mystery behind "metabolically healthy obesity."

"Obesity isn't a homogenous condition," says Harvard's Dr. Frank Hu at Harvard Health. "It appears that it doesn't affect everyone in the same way."

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Emily Shire is chief researcher for The Week magazine. She has written about pop culture, religion, and women and gender issues at publications including Slate, The Forward, and Jewcy.