Metabolic Phenotypes in Obesity — Ultrahuman

Written by Alina Gufran

Summary:

• Introduction
• What is metabolic phenotyping?
• Causes of obesity
• Obesity and metabolic health
• Importance of metaphenotyping in terms of obesity
• Metabolic phenotyping in obesity
  BMI
  Fat mass
  Adipose tissue function
  Body fat distribution

According to overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. A body mass index (BMI) over 25 is considered overweight, and over 30 is regarded obese. The issue has grown to epidemic proportions, with over 4 million people dying each year as a result of being overweight or obese in 2017, according to the global burden of disease. Rates of overweight and obesity continue to grow in adults and children. From 1975 to 2016, the prevalence of overweight or obese children and adolescents aged 5–19 years increased more than four-fold from 4% to 18% globally. Body mass index (BMI) is a calculation that takes a person’s weight and height into account to measure body size. In adults, obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30.0 or more , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity is associated with a higher risk for serious diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

The metabolic phenotype is widely considered an important predictor of obesity-related diseases. What does it entail and does it really hold ground? This piece explores the concept.

What is metabolic phenotyping?

Metabolic phenotyping involves the comprehensive analysis of biological fluids or tissue samples. This analysis allows biochemical classification of a person’s physiological or pathological states that relate to disease diagnosis or prognosis at the individual level and to disease risk factors at the population level. These approaches are currently being implemented in hospital environments and in regional phenotyping centres worldwide. The ultimate aim of such work is to generate information on patient biology using techniques such as patient stratification to better inform clinicians on factors that will enhance diagnosis or the choice of therapy. There have been many reports of direct applications of metabolic phenotyping in a clinical setting.

Originally published at https://blog.ultrahuman.com on November 2, 2021.