[Metabolically obese normal-weight individuals and metabolically healthy, but obese, subjects].

The relationships between body weight and metabolic abnormalities are not so simple. Indeed, there are metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) individuals, who are frequently not detected because of a falsely reassuring body weight, and, in contrast, metabolically healthy, but obese, people (MHO). The different topography and hormonal-metabolic and pro-inflammatory activities of various adipose depots seem to play a major role to explain this paradox. The present review paper aims at describing the main principles of management of MONW individuals, with the objective to reduce the higher risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and to discuss both the advantages and uncertainties of a classical weight-reducing approach in MHO people.