Metabolomics Reveals Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obese Individuals Differ in their Response to a Caloric Challenge.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine if metabolically healthy obese (MHO) individuals have a different metabolic response to a standardized diet compared to lean healthy (LH) and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUO) individuals.MethodsThirty adults (35-70 yrs) were classified as LH, MHO, and MUO according to anthropometric and clinical measurements. Participants consumed a standardized high calorie meal (~1330 kcal). Blood glucose and insulin were measured at fasting, and 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min postprandially. Additional blood samples were collected for the targeted analysis of amino acids (AAs) and derivatives, and fatty acids (FAs).ResultsThe postprandial response (i.e., area under the curve, AUC) for serum glucose and insulin were similar between MHO and LH individuals, and significantly lower than MUO individuals (p ConclusionMHO individuals show preserved insulin sensitivity and a greater ability to adapt to a caloric challenge compared to MUO individuals.