Table 1. Baseline characteristics a of subcohort participants across metabolically defined body size phenotypes.
| Normal weight | Overweight | Obese | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metabolically healthy normal weight | Metabolically unhealthy normal weight | Metabolically healthy overweight | Metabolically unhealthy overweight | Metabolically healthy obese | Metabolically unhealthy obese | p Healthy vs unhealthy obese b | p Healthy obese vs normal weight b | Unadjusted mean c | |
| N | 4282 | 368 | 2761 | 1403 | 751 | 909 | |||
| Women (%) | 69 (67, 71) | 69 (64, 73) | 55 (53, 57) | 51 (48, 53) | 64 (61, 67) | 59 (56, 62) | 0.01 | 0.01 | 63 |
| Age (years) | 50.8 (50.6, 51.1) | 55.5 (54.7, 56.3) | 52.3 (51.9, 52.6) | 54.8 (54.4, 55.3) | 52.8 (52.2, 53.4) | 54.4 (53.9, 54.9) | <.0001 | <.0001 | 53.6 (9.3) |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 22.7 (22.6, 22.7) | 23.5 (23.3, 23.7) | 26.9 (26.9, 27.0) | 27.5 (27.4, 27.6) | 32.6 (32.5, 32.8) | 33.3 (33.2, 33.5) | <.0001 | NR | 26.1 (4.1) |
| WC (cm)d | 79.9 (79.7, 80.1) | 85.5 (84.9, 86.2) | 88.9 (88.7, 89.2) | 93.1 (92.8, 93.5) | 101.2 (100.8, 101.7) | 105.2 (104.7, 105.6) | NR | NR | 86.3 (12.6) |
| Glucose (mmol/l) d,e | 4.78 (4.73, 4.83) | 5.39 (5.24, 5.54) | 4.80 (4.75, 4.86) | 5.39 (5.31, 5.47) | 4.83 (4.72, 4.93) | 5.84 (5.74, 5.94) | NR | 0.40 | 5.04 (1.59) |
| HbA1c (%) | 5.45 (5.43, 5.47) | 5.62 (5.56, 5.68) | 5.47 (5.45, 5.50) | 5.69 (5.66, 5.72) | 5.57 (5.52, 5.61) | 5.96 (5.92, 6.00) | <.0001 | <.0001 | 5.5 (0.6) |
| SBP (mmHg) d | 127.7 (127.1, 128.3) | 137.6 (135.8, 139.3) | 131.5 (130.8, 132.2) | 139.0 (138.1, 139.9) | 135.5 (134.2, 136.7) | 143.2 (142.0, 144.3) | NR | <.0001 | 132.9 (19.7) |
| DBP (mm Hg) d | 78.9 (78.5, 79.2) | 84.0 (83.0, 85.0) | 81.6 (81.2, 81.9) | 85.5 (84.9, 86.0) | 84.4 (83.7, 85.1) | 87.9 (87.2, 88.6) | NR | <.0001 | 82 (10.7) |
| HDL, chol (mmol/l) d,e | 1.60 (1.58, 1.61) | 1.17 (1.13, 1.20) | 1.48 (1.47, 1.50) | 1.15 (1.13, 1.16) | 1.46 (1.43, 1.48) | 1.10 (1.08, 1.13) | NR | <.0001 | 1.48 (0.42) |
| Total chol (mmol/L) e | 5.82 (5.78, 5.86) | 6.35 (6.24, 6.46) | 5.99 (5.95, 6.04) | 6.33 (6.27, 6.39) | 5.94 (5.87, 6.02) | 6.23 (6.15, 6.30) | <.0001 | 0.004 | 6.01 (1.13) |
| Non HDL, chol (mmol/l) e | 4.22 (4.18, 4.26) | 5.18 (5.07, 5.30) | 4.51 (4.47, 4.55) | 5.19 (5.13, 5.25) | 4.49 (4.41, 4.57) | 5.12 (5.05, 5.20) | <.0001 | <.0001 | 4.53 (1.18) |
| CRP (mg/L) | 1.58 (1.43, 1.73) | 2.06 (1.63, 2.49) | 2.20 (2.03, 2.37) | 2.63 (2.40, 2.86) | 3.74 (3.44, 4.05) | 4.39 (4.11, 4.67) | 0.001 | <.0001 | 2.34 (4.23) |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) d, e | 1.13 (1.10, 1.15) | 2.25 (2.17, 2.33) | 1.22 (1.19, 1.25) | 2.25 (2.20, 2.29) | 1.22 (1.16, 1.27) | 2.31 (2.25, 2.36) | NR | 0.003 | 1.41 (0.93) |
| Vegetables (portions/d) f | 2.67 (2.62, 2.71) | 2.65 (2.52, 2.78) | 2.68 (2.63, 2.73) | 2.73 (2.66, 2.80) | 2.60 (2.51, 2.70) | 2.71 (2.62, 2.80) | 0.08 | 0.19 | 2.54 (1.81) |
| Fruit (portions/d) g | 2.92 (2.85, 2.99) | 2.94 (2.73, 3.15) | 3.09 (3.01, 3.17) | 3.07 (2.96, 3.18) | 3.03 (2.88, 3.18) | 3.16 (3.03, 3.30) | 0.17 | 0.19 | 3.02 (2.29) |
| Red meat (portions/d) h | 1.03 (1.01, 1.05) | 1.09 (1.03, 1.15) | 1.12 (1.10, 1.14) | 1.14 (1.11, 1.17) | 1.15 (1.11, 1.19) | 1.21 (1.17, 1.24) | 0.05 | <.0001 | 1.09 (0.74) |
| Mediterranean diet score | 8.84 (8.77, 8.92) | 8.64 (8.42, 8.86) | 8.75 (8.66, 8.83) | 8.76 (8.65, 8.88) | 8.72 (8.57, 8.88) | 8.59 (8.45, 8.74) | 0.21 | 0.16 | 8.55 (3.08) |
| Energy intake (kcal/day) | 2201 (2181, 2220) | 2186 (2128, 2243) | 2202 (2180, 2224) | 2196 (2165, 2226) | 2240 (2199, 2280) | 2228 (2191, 2265) | 0.67 | 0.08 | 2149 (623) |
| Alcohol (drinks/d) i | 1.85 (1.78, 1.91) | 1.82 (1.62, 2.01) | 1.84 (1.76, 1.92) | 1.82 (1.72, 1.93) | 1.78 (1.64, 1.92) | 1.72 (1.59, 1.85) | 0.56 | 0.36 | 1.62 (2.13) |
| Physical activity (%) | |||||||||
| Inactive | 22 (21, 24) | 25 (21, 29) | 23 (22, 25) | 27 (25, 29) | 31 (28, 34) | 32 (29, 34) | 0.71 | <.0001 | 23 |
| Moderately inactive | 34 (32, 35) | 39 (35, 44) | 34 (32, 36) | 36 (33, 38) | 29 (26, 33) | 34 (31, 37) | 0.04 | 0.02 | 33 |
| Moderately active | 24 (23, 25) | 19 (14, 23) | 22 (21, 24) | 19 (17, 22) | 20 (17, 23) | 18 (16, 21) | 0.37 | 0.02 | 22 |
| Active | 20 (19, 22) | 16 (12, 21) | 20 (19, 22) | 17 (15, 20) | 19 (17, 22) | 16 (13, 19) | 0.07 | 0.63 | 21 |
| Education (%) | |||||||||
| No schooling / Primary | 35 (33, 36) | 43 (39, 48) | 43 (41, 44) | 46 (44, 48) | 52 (49, 55) | 51 (48, 54) | 0.65 | <.0001 | 38 |
| Secondary | 15 (14, 16) | 12 (09, 16) | 14 (12, 15) | 11 (09, 13) | 11 (08, 13) | 10 (07, 12) | 0.44 | 0.002 | 15 |
| Vocational/University | 50 (48, 51) | 44 (40, 49) | 44 (42, 46) | 43 (40, 45) | 37 (34, 41) | 40 (37, 43) | 0.31 | <.0001 | 47 |
| Smoking status (%) | |||||||||
| Never | 42 (40, 44) | 38 (33, 43) | 45 (44, 47) | 41 (38, 43) | 46 (42, 49) | 44 (41, 48) | 0.54 | 0.04 | 45 |
| Former | 29 (27, 30) | 24 (20, 29) | 31 (29, 33) | 33 (30, 35) | 34 (31, 38) | 32 (29, 35) | 0.36 | 0.002 | 29 |
| Current | 30 (28, 31) | 38 (34, 42) | 24 (22, 25) | 27 (24, 29) | 20 (17, 23) | 23 (20, 26) | 0.10 | <.0001 | 26 |
a
Values are adjusted means or percentages (and confidence interval) from ANCOVA, adjusted for centre, sex, age, education, and smoking, as well as energy intake for dietary variables.
b
P-values were calculated using F-test
c
Unadjusted means (SD) or percentages overall in the subcohort (n =10,474)
d
Values in bold are components of the metabolic syndrome. The test for difference between metabolically healthy and unhealthy is not presented for these variables as it is not relevant (NR).
e
Conversion factors from mmol/L to mg/dL: glucose x18.02; cholesterol x38.67; triglycerides x88.57
f
1 vegetable portion = 80g
g
1 fruit portion = 80g
h
1 red meat portion = 110g of unprocessed meat and 50g of processed meat
i
1 alcoholic drink corresponds to 10g of ethanol
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference; chol, cholesterol; CRP, C-reactive protein; NR, not relevant