Depressive symptoms, anxiety and well-being among metabolic health obese subtypes

BACKGROUND: The metabolically healthy obese (MHO) phenotype is characterized by favorable lipid and inflammatory profiles, preserved insulin sensitivity and normal blood pressure. Limited data regards whether metabolically healthy obesity also confers beneficial effects on mental health and well-being exists. METHODS: We investigated depressive symptoms, anxiety and well-being among metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese and non-obese adults from a cross-sectional sample of 2047 middle-aged Irish men and women. Subjects were classified as obese (BMI ≥30kg/m(2)) and non-obese (BMI