A group of global experts is proposing a new way to diagnose obesity. Under new recommendations released Tuesday, Jan. 14, obesity would no longer be determined solely by body mass index (BMI).
A person’s BMI is determined using a person’s height and weight. Under the new recommendations, other factors would also be taken into account, including waist circumference and evidence of health problems linked to being overweight.
A new report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Journal also introduced two new diagnostic categories: clinical obesity and pre-clinical obesity. People diagnosed with clinical obesity would meet BMI and other markers of obesity, and have evidence of organ, tissue or other problems caused by excess weight, like heart disease, high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease or chronic severe knee or hip pain.
Those with clinical obesity would be eligible for treatments, including diet and exercise interventions, and obesity medications. People with pre-clinical obesity are at risk for those conditions but have no ongoing illness yet.
The 58 experts behind the recommendations said under the new criteria, about 20% of people who used to be classified as obese would no longer meet the definition and about 20% of people with serious health effects but lower BMI would now be considered clinically obese.
The new definitions have been endorsed by more than 75 medical organizations around the world, but it’s not clear how widely or quickly they could be adopted.
