Objectives: Body mass index (BMI) commonly is used in obesity classification as a surrogate measure, and obesity is associated with a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BMI on short-term outcomes after cardiac surgery.Design: A retrospective cohort study. Setting: University teaching hospital, 2 centers. Participants: The study comprised 4,740 patients who underwent cardiac surgery at 2 hospitals-from Interventions: No changes to standard practice were required.Measurements and Main Results: Patients were assigned into 6 BMI groups as follows: underweight (BMI o18.5 kg/ m 2 ), normal weight (Z18.5 to o25 kg/m 2 ), overweight (Z25 to o30 kg/m 2 ), class I obese (Z30 to o35 kg/m 2 ), class II obese (Z35 to o40 kg/m 2 ), and class III obese (BMI Z40 kg/ m 2 ). Short-term major postoperative complications (postoperative stroke, cardiac arrest, new atrial fibrillation/flutter, permanent rhythm device insertion, deep sternal infection, sepsis, prolonged ventilation, pneumonia, renal dialysis, renal failure, intensive care unit readmission, total intensive care unit hours, and readmission in 30 days, and mortalities (in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, surgical mortality) were compared among various BMI groups after cardiac surgery. Age, sex, surgery type, family history of coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, and lipid-lowering medication were the risk factors for early outcomes. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the underweight and class III obese BMI groups demonstrated significant, adverse differences in some shortterm outcomes, including deep sternal infection, prolonged ventilation, new atrial fibrillation/flutter, and renal failure. However, being in the overweight or class I obese group demonstrated a positive effect on discharge and surgical mortality.Conclusions:The results of this study demonstrated that extreme obesity and underweight were significantly associated with early major adverse clinical outcomes. However, there was an "obese paradox" in short-term mortality after cardiac surgery.