[2] No universally accepted criteria exist to define putative MHO,[2] but definitions generally require the patient to be obese and to lack metabolic abnormalities such as dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance,[1] or metabolic syndrome.
[9][10] Some research suggests that metabolically healthy obese individuals are at an increased risk of several adverse outcomes when compared to individuals of a normal weight, including type 2 diabetes,[11] depressive symptoms,[12] and cardiovascular events.
[13][14] Other research also suggests that although MHO individuals display a favorable metabolic profile, this does not necessarily translate into a decrease in mortality.
[15] Research to date has produced conflicting results with respect to cardiovascular disease and mortality.
[19] The relatively low risk of cardiovascular disease among people with MHO relative to metabolically unhealthy obese people has been attributed to differences in white adipose tissue function between the two groups.