So people who weigh more are more likely to have a faster basal metabolic rate — not a slower one — because a portion of excess weight is muscle tissue. Sex. Men tend to have less body fat and more muscle mass than women of the same age and weight. Again, higher muscle mass means burning more calories.

Metabolic syndrome is defined as a clustering of abdominal obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Obesity guidelines based on Western populations markedly underestimate the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) among all Asians. This is because Asians have a greater body fat at a given BMI. The World Health Organization (WHO) has, therefore, issued a lower cutoff point for overweight (BMI>23) and obesity (BMI>25) for all Asians. Even among Caucasians, substantial risk of premature CAD occurs at a waist circumference (WC) of >90 cm underscoring the dangers of abdominal obesity.