A unique study of 16 pairs of identical twins in which one twin is obese and the other lean has yielded some surprising results.
In 8 of the pairs of twins, the obese twin was as ‘metabolically healthy’ as his or her lean co-twin, while in the other 8 pairs, the obese twin had a poorer blood fat profile, higher liver fat and increased insulin production and resistance, and higher blood pressure — all hallmarks of unhealthy obesity that can lead to diabetes, heart problems and other complications. The study is by Dr Kirsi Pietiläinen, Dr Jussi Naukkarinen and colleagues from the Obesity Research Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland, and is published in Diabetologia, the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
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