New Delhi. Thursday. More than half of normal-weight persons may have a high percentage of body fat making them susceptible to heart disease, diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Men whose body fat is greater than 20 percent and women whose body fat is greater than 30 percent are suffering from "normal weight obesity, even though their weight may be normal for their size, said Dr K K Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

The prevalence of people with a high amount of body fat despite a normal weight is relatively high. Many of these people have metabolic abnormalities. Even normal-weight people should be advised to exercise and eat a healthy diet to reduce their level of fat, especially belly fat. A study by DR Lopez-Jimenez and presented at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting, in Chicago, out of 2,127 people who participated in the U.S. government's Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 61 percent of the participants had levels of body fat that indicated "normal weight obesity.

It was associated with high cholesterol; high levels of leptin, a hormone found in fat and other tissues that's involved in appetite regulation; and high rates of metabolic syndrome. Even a small amount of extra fat increase the risk for diabetes and heart disease. Excess body fat in the belly is a menace, whatever your weight.