Obesity severity is incrementally associated with\u00a0a broad range of\u00a0cardiometabolic and renal disease burden, as discovered by researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Recently published in\u00a0Obesity, the\u00a0paper\u00a0“Association of Obesity Severity\u00a0with\u00a0Cardiometabolic and Renal Disease Burden in the United States,” explored the relationship through\u00a0a cross-sectional study of data from\u00a0the U.S.\u00a0Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In exploring the\u00a0survey\u00a0results, which\u00a0contained\u00a0data on more than\u00a05 million people\u00a0captured\u00a0between 2011 and 2023, researchers calculated\u00a0odds ratios for the diagnosis<\/a> of diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, kidney disease, myocardial infarction,\u00a0stroke\u00a0and coronary artery disease across\u00a0different classes of obesity. The obesity classifications were Class I (body\u00a0mass\u00a0index, or BMI,\u00a0between 30.0 and 34.9), Class II (35.0 and 39.9), Class III (40.0 to 49.9)\u00a0and\u00a0Class IV (50.0 or greater).\u00a0A higher BMI was associated with increased odds for all conditions, with Class IV exhibiting notably elevated odds for diabetes,\u00a0hypertension\u00a0and kidney disease.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The data\u00a0show an\u00a0increased likelihood of a wide array of\u00a0common\u00a0metabolic diseases that increase with obesity severity. A clear, gradual increase in disease risk is associated with higher BMI,\u00a0starting\u00a0even\u00a0as early as Class I\u00a0obesity.\u00a0Our study points to an urgent need for early interventions\u00a0for people in all classes of obesity if we are to reduce the occurrence of these metabolic diseases.”<\/p>\n
Dr. Florina\u00a0Corpodean,\u00a0Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Pennington Biomedical’s\u00a0Metamor Institute<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Corpodean\u00a0was one of eight Pennington Biomedical researchers contributing to this paper.\u00a0She recently presented\u00a0the findings at\u00a0ObesityWeek\u00a02025\u00a0in Atlanta, the annual conference for obesity and metabolic health researchers.\u00a0<\/p>\n “While these\u00a0individual\u00a0associations\u00a0of obesity and disease\u00a0have been suggested,\u00a0a\u00a0key strength of this study is\u00a0the collective examination of\u00a0each of these\u00a0cardiometabolic\u00a0conditions\u00a0in a\u00a0single,\u00a0nationally representative population,” noted Dr. Vance Albaugh, Assistant Professor and senior author who\u00a0directed\u00a0the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n Obesity increases the risks of diabetes,\u00a0hypertension\u00a0and heart disease, but most studies in this area\u00a0consolidate\u00a0all obesity cases together, rarely categorizing beyond a BMI greater than 40. These studies\u00a0fail to\u00a0capture the unique risks faced by those with more severe obesity. Adults with\u00a0a\u00a0BMI of 50 or more face dramatically higher odds of disease, pointing to a need for a clinical and research focus on treatment for individuals in this class.<\/p>\n “This research exemplifies what we’re striving to achieve at Pennington Biomedical,” said Dr. John Kirwan, Executive Director of Pennington Biomedical. “What’s striking is how dramatically the risk of cardiometabolic and renal diseases escalates with each increasing level of obesity severity\u00a0\u2013\u00a0it’s a clear, stepwise progression. Our team at Pennington Biomedical and the Metamor Institute is bringing much-needed attention to individuals in higher BMI categories who\u00a0haven’t\u00a0received adequate focus\u00a0in\u00a0clinical research. Understanding these distinctions is essential for developing more targeted, personalized approaches to treatment and prevention.”<\/p>\n Source:<\/p>\n Pennington Biomedical Research Center<\/a><\/p>\n Journal reference:<\/p>\n
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