The life expectancy of an obese individual has been found to be about 7 years shorter than that of a normal weight counterpart.1 If current trends in obesity continue, the most recent generation may have a lower lifespan than their parents.2 Weight loss, however, has recently been shown to increase mortality.3 One explanation may be that regional changes in body composition, rather than absolute changes in weight, are important in assessing the potential efficacy of weight loss to lower the risk of associated comorbidities and death. Evidence also shows that the presence of large visceral adipose tissue (VAT) depots are associated with increased risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).4, 5 Lapidus et al.6 reported that women with the highest waist to hip ratio (WHR), an indicator of visceral adiposity, had elevated relative risk of death from CVD. Thus, body composition and fat distribution are important measures in determining potential health benefits of a weight loss program.
S Santosa, I Demonty, A H Lichtenstein and P J H Jones, Cholesterol metabolism and body composition in women: the effects of moderate weight loss,
International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31, 933–941; published online 30 January 2007
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v31/n6/full/0803549a.html
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