A group of 58 researchers is looking for a new, better way to measure obesity.
The global team’s recommendations were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on January 14.
Body mass index (BMI) was the international standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, according to many sources, although some experts have questioned its validity.
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A person’s BMI is calculated by dividing their weight by the square of their height in feet.
Body mass index (BMI) has been the international standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, according to many sources, although some experts have questioned its validity. (iStock)
“Obesity is a complex problem and has varying significance at an individual level,” lead report author Francesco Rubino, head of bariatric and metabolic surgery at King’s College London, Great Britainhe told Fox News Digital.
Obesity is a “spectrum,” he said, not “a single, distinct clinical entity.”
Rubino continued, “It is impossible to say whether obesity is a disease or not, since disease status cannot be equated with body size or mere excess body fat.”
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The Clinical Obesity Commission has proposed a “reframing” of obesity that distinguishes between people who have the disease here and now and those who may be at risk for the disease in the future, Rubino said.
Instead of relying only on BMI, researchers recommend also measuring adiposity, which is the amount of excess body fat.
A person’s BMI is calculated by dividing their weight by the square of their height in feet. (iStock)
According to scientists, adiposity can be determined by measuring a person’s waist circumference or by taking a body image to measure fat mass.
A group of experts recommends using two levels of obesity: preclinical and clinical.
WITH preclinical obesitya person has an excess of body fat that has not affected the function of his tissues and organs.
“People with clinical obesity suffer from a chronic disease and should be treated in the same way as people with any other chronic disease.”
However, a person may have an increased risk of developing clinical obesity, type 2 diabetesheart disease and some cancers, the researchers noted.
Clinical obesity is defined as “a chronic, systemic disease characterized by changes in the function of tissues, organs, the whole individual, or a combination thereof, due to excessive fat.”
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With clinical obesity, a person can experience “severe end-organ damage, causing life-changing and potentially life-threatening complications,” the researchers wrote.
Potential effects of clinical obesity may include heart attackstroke and kidney failure.
“Because these categories of obesity are completely new, we cannot measure their relative prevalence in the population,” Rubino noted. “Physicians have not yet been able to make such a diagnosis, as many of the organ dysfunctions that characterize clinical obesity have not been routinely assessed until now.”
When excess body fat is confirmed, clinicians should evaluate individuals to determine whether obesity is causing organ dysfunction, the study’s researcher said. (iStock)
The researchers call for future studies of these diagnoses.
“We recommend that clinicians thoroughly assess obese individuals in the clinic and use other measures of body size — waist circumference or others — to understand whether increased BMI levels are due to excess body fat or other reasons, such as increased muscle mass,” Rubino said. for Fox News Digital.
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When excess body fat — meaning obesity — is confirmed, clinicians should evaluate individuals to determine whether obesity is causing organ dysfunction, the researcher said.
“People with clinical obesity are suffering from a chronic disease and should be treated the same as people with any other chronic disease,” Rubino said.
People with preclinical obesity should undergo “evidence-based health counseling, monitoring of their health condition over time and, when applicable, appropriate interventions to reduce the risk of developing clinical obesity,” they wrote.
Between August 2021 and August 2023, roughly 40% of US adults were obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 9.4% of these adults were severely obese.
‘Outdated measure’
dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida-based neurosurgeon, longevity expert and fitness competitor, agrees that BMI is an “outdated measure” for diagnosing obesity.
“It is clear that obesity should no longer be defined solely by physical appearance or weight.”
“As medicine evolves, it is clear that obesity should no longer be defined solely by physical appearance or weight – or weight in relation to height, as in BMI calculations,” said the doctor, who was not involved in this new research, for Fox News Digital.
“Instead, the condition must be understood through the lens of metabolic dysfunction.”
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Obesity is not just a disease of being overweight, Osborn said, but “a systemic metabolic disorder that requires nuanced and individualized care.”
According to the doctor, the condition is better measured by looking at factors such as inflammation, insulin resistance and glucose tolerance.
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In some cases, using BMI can lead to “muscular athletes” being labeled as obese, he noted, and people with “normal” BMIs can sometimes have “harmful” levels of visceral (abdominal) fat.
Osborn noted that in his clinic, he and his team do not use BMI, but instead rely on visceral fat scores, skeletal muscle mass and body fat percentage.
In some cases, using BMI can lead to “muscular athletes” being labeled as obese, one doctor noted. (iStock)
Skeletal muscle mass (muscles that connect to bones) is critical for physical strength and metabolic efficiency, Osborn said.
For optimal health, he recommends that men aim for 50% skeletal muscle mass relative to total body weight, and that women aim for 45%—although other factors, such as age and fitness levelsget into the game.
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“Remember, your resilience—your ability to protect yourself from disease—is in your muscles,” Osborn added.
“By integrating body composition metrics, metabolic markers, and personalized assessments, we can more accurately diagnose obesity and tailor interventions to each individual.”
