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Hidden Obesity in Dialysis Patients: Clinical Implications
Author(s) -
Abramowitz Matthew K.,
Sharma Deep,
Folkert Vaughn W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
seminars in dialysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1525-139X
pISSN - 0894-0959
DOI - 10.1111/sdi.12516
Subject(s) - medicine , obesity , body mass index , wasting , population , dialysis , end stage renal disease , adipose tissue , disease , intensive care medicine , environmental health
While body‐mass index ( BMI ) is used to diagnose obesity in the general population, its application in the end‐stage renal disease ( ESRD ) population is fraught with difficulty. A major limitation is its inability to distinguish muscle mass from fat mass, thereby leading to misclassification of individuals with poor muscle mass but excess adipose tissue as non‐obese (i.e. BMI <30 kg/m 2 ). As muscle wasting is common among ESRD patients, this is an important problem. A substantial proportion of ESRD patients have levels of BMI in the normal range, yet excess adiposity based on other measures. The importance of this “hidden” obesity remains to be determined, but it must be recognized in order for obesity interventions to be appropriately targeted and tested in the ESRD population.