Poster presented at the 2017 Health Sciences Research Day which was organized and sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Medicine Research Council and held on November 9, 2017.Obesity is a significant risk factor for cardiometabolic complications, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, approximately 25% of individuals with obesity are seemingly protected from these complications (Wildman et al. Arch Intern Med, 168, 1617-24, 2008). The purpose of this study was to provide a careful characterization of body composition and metabolic function in people who are: (i) lean and metabolically normal (MNL); (ii) obese and metabolically-normal (MN)); and (iii) obese and metabolically-abnormal (MAO). (Introduction & study aims) Although the glycemic responses of MNL individuals demonstrate a "metabolically healthy" state, more rigorous measures of insulin sensitivity show insulin resistance in this population, demonstrating people with MNO are insulin-resistant with respect to glucose metabolism but are able to maintain normal glycemic control by increased insulin secretion. Adipose tissue distribution is a marker of metabolic health in people with obesity, as greater intra-abdominal adipose tissue volume and intrahepatic triglyceride content are associated with metabolic dysfunction
