New Delhi, March 30 -- In India, a growing body of medical evidence is challenging a long-held assumption: that slim individuals are metabolically healthy. Speaking at the launch of a cardiology textbook on obesity and lipid management, Dr Jitendra Singh underscored a critical concern-abdominal or central obesity may be a bigger risk factor than overall body weight.

This is particularly relevant in the Indian context, where even individuals who appear lean externally may carry dangerous levels of visceral fat, the type of fat that accumulates deep within the abdomen.

Visceral fat is not the fat you can pinch under your skin. It wraps around vital organs such as the liver and intestines, making it far more metabolically active-and harmfu...