Normal weight obesity is defined as

Normal weight obesity is defined as

• A. A normal BMI but excessive body fat percentage
• B. Overweight with high muscle mass
• C. Underweight with high fat mass
• D. Normal BMI and normal fat percentage

Answer: (A)

This item highlights a key idea: BMI alone can miss excess fat. Normal weight obesity describes people who have a BMI in the normal range but carry an excessive amount of body fat. Since BMI doesn’t distinguish fat from lean tissue, someone can appear lean by height and weight while still having a high body fat percentage, which can carry metabolic risks similar to higher BMI categories. Thresholds vary, but typically this means body fat well above healthy levels for a given sex, even though BMI is normal. That’s why this option—normal BMI paired with excessive body fat percentage—fits best. The other descriptions don’t match because they involve overweight with high muscle mass, underweight with high fat, or normal BMI with normal fat, none of which capture the idea of normal weight obesity.

This item highlights a key idea: BMI alone can miss excess fat. Normal weight obesity describes people who have a BMI in the normal range but carry an excessive amount of body fat. Since BMI doesn’t distinguish fat from lean tissue, someone can appear lean by height and weight while still having a high body fat percentage, which can carry metabolic risks similar to higher BMI categories. Thresholds vary, but typically this means body fat well above healthy levels for a given sex, even though BMI is normal. That’s why this option—normal BMI paired with excessive body fat percentage—fits best. The other descriptions don’t match because they involve overweight with high muscle mass, underweight with high fat, or normal BMI with normal fat, none of which capture the idea of normal weight obesity.