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Differentiating between body fat and lean mass—how should we measure obesity?

Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism volume 4, page E1 (2008)Cite this article

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Arising from: Romero-Corral A et al. (2008) Differentiating between body fat and lean mass—how should we measure obesity? Nat Clin Pract Endocrinol Metab 4: 322–323 doi:10.1038/ncpendmet0809

In their recent article, Romero-Corral et al.1 report on obesity as a factor of risk assessment in individuals with and without cardiovascular disease. They suggest that the “obesity paradox” is merely based on the inadequacy of BMI to differentiate between lean and fat mass. Against the background of obesity, the authors perceive adipose tissue as a plain cardiovascular risk factor and view lean mass as the protective element. It is argued that the favourable impact of elevated BMI results from the beneficial effects of lean tissue overriding the adverse effects of excess body fat. Romero-Corral et al. assume that accurate fat tissue assessment (such as dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry [DEXA]) may prove its nocuous impact. In chronic diseases, however, we propose to consider a more differentiated view on adipose tissue.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiology, Applied Cachexia Research, Campus Virchow-Medical Center, Charité Medical School, Augustenburger Platz 1, Berlin, 13353, Germany

    Tibor Szabó, Stephan von Haehling & Wolfram Doehner

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  1. Tibor Szabó
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  2. Stephan von Haehling
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  3. Wolfram Doehner
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Correspondence to Tibor Szabó.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Szabó, T., von Haehling, S. & Doehner, W. Differentiating between body fat and lean mass—how should we measure obesity?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 4, E1 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpendmet0999

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