Association between sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption and the metabolically healthy obese phenotype

Obesity is typically associated with multiple metabolic abnormalities. However, not all obese individuals exhibit metabolic risk factors. Absence of risk factors among obese individuals has been referred to as the “metabolically healthy obese” (MHO) phenotype. Little information exists regarding possible dietary differences between obese individuals with and without these metabolic abnormalities. The purpose of this study was to determine if sugar sweetened‐beverage (SSB) consumption was associated with the MHO phenotype among obese, non‐diabetic adult members of the Framingham Offspring Cohort. We classified MHO as BMI≥30 with none of the 5 following metabolic criteria: insulin resistance, hypertension, elevated fasting glucose and triglycerides, and low HDL cholesterol. Overall prevalence of MHO was 10.1%. Prevalence of MHO was 2‐fold greater among individuals in the lowest quartile of SSB consumption compared to those in the highest quartile (15.5% vs 7.8%, P=0.02) after multivariate adjustment. Our findings suggest that lower SSB consumption is associated with healthier metabolic profiles in obese individuals. Grant Funding Source : USDA ARS (contract number 58‐ 1950‐7‐707.Number), NHLBI (contract number NO1‐HC‐25195Number)