This study derived from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) examined the particular subgroup of obese individuals who are referred to as “metabolically normal” and compared their all-cause mortality risk with “metabolically abnormal obese” individuals. The data revealed that a metabolically normal obese individual was a very rare phenotype, representing 1.3% of the U.S. population. Moreover, obese individuals had an increased risk for all-cause mortality, irrespective of whether or not they had insulin resistance or a clustering of metabolic risk factors. Therefore, weight management is an important target for reducing morbidity and mortality in all obese individuals.