The researchers performed a study to test the hypothesis that in the absence of metabolic dysfunction, people with excess adiposity are not at a high risk of cardiovascular disease. This hypothesis was tested in a large pan-European prospective study. The results revealed that metabolically unhealthy individuals had higher risk of coronary heart disease in comparison to their healthy counterparts, regardless of body mass index. On the other hand, irrespective of metabolic health, overweight and obese individuals had higher coronary heart disease risk than lean people. The findings of this study are published in the European Heart Journal.