Gaining weight is risky for some and safe for others is what this analysis suggests. McMaster University scientists have found that some ethnic clans seemingly tend to include hazardous fat onto their internal systems like the liver when they gain weight, while other groups add it only to their waist circumference.
This study reveals that South Asians are supposedly more prone to add this kind of organ-hugging fat that causes diabetes and coronary artery disease. Initial studies have revealed that individuals originally from the Indian subcontinent appear to be more vulnerable to cardiovascular conditions inclusive of type 2 diabetes, low, good or HDL cholesterol and abdominal obesity.
Sonia Anand, a professor of medicine and epidemiology and leader of the study, remarked “The new study showed South Asians have less space to store fat below the skin than white Caucasians. Their excess fat, therefore, overflows to ectopic compartments, in the abdomen and liver where it may affect function.”
She added that visceral fat is apparently linked to metabolic problems such as elevated glucose and abnormal lipids that supposedly accelerate risk variables for coronary heart disease. According to co-author Arya Sharma, this study may help comprehend the reason why South Asians face weight-related health issues at lower BMI levels than Caucasian counterparts. It also informs clinicians that people from these areas have to be checked for signs of heart disease or diabetes at lower BMIs.
The study is published today in the medical journal PLoS ONE.