Scientists identify six types of obese people

A study suggested people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more fall into six categories: heavy drinking males; young healthy females; the affluent and healthy elderly; the physically sick but happy elderly; the unhappy and anxious middle-aged; and those with the poorest health.

Sat, 18 Apr, 2015 - 01:00

Jennifer Cockerell

Researchers said their findings suggest clinicians and policy makers should not target obese individuals as a whole, but treat them according to which “type” they belong to.

The study, led by the University of Sheffield, analysed people with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above — anyone who is 30 or more is classed as obese.

The research team looked at health-related variables such as whether individuals reported conditions like fatigue, pain, insomnia, depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or cancer. Demographic variables included were age, sex, ethnicity and socioeconomic deprivation, while their well-being was assessed by asking them how satisfied they were with their lives on a scale of 0 to 10.

The study found the largest cluster was “younger healthy females”, which was also the youngest group. They displayed the most positive health characteristics of all clusters and engaged in some healthy behaviours.

“Heavy drinking males” showed similar characteristics except with respect to their alcohol consumption.

The “unhappy anxious middle-aged” group was primarily female, had poor mental health and reported insomnia, anxiety, depression and fatigue.

The final three clusters captured different patterns amongst older people.

The “affluent healthy elderly” was the least deprived cluster and had positive health characteristics (although included a large proportion with high blood pressure) and above average alcohol consumption.

The “physically sick but happy elderly” group had a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions (including osteoarthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure) but exhibited low levels of anxiety and depression.

The final group, made up of those with “poorest health”, were most deprived, had the highest prevalence of chronic health conditions. It also had the highest mean BMI. The findings are published in the Journal of Public Health.