This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:
A new diagnostic definition of obesity outperforms body mass index (BMI) in identifying differences in health and prognosis, including mortality risk, according to a large international study published in Nature.
The research, led by King's College London, tested the diagnostic framework proposed by a Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission in January 2025 to address worldwide concerns that reliance on BMI alone may be causing millions of people to be misdiagnosed.
The new definition was designed to improve identification of excess body fat and distinguishes clinical from preclinical obesity based on its impact on organ function and daily activities.
The research was undertaken in collaboration with Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Kailuan General Hospital and North China University of Science and Technology in China; Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the University of Colorado Anschutz in the United States; the University of Girona in Spain; and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy.
BMI does not accurately reflect an individual's body-fat amount or distribution, which strongly influence health risks. It also does not measure effects on organ function and so cannot distinguish illness from health.
The Lancet Commission's diagnostic framework involves two steps: complementing BMI with measures such as waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio to confirm excess body fat; then distinguishing clinical obesity, an active disease in which excess body fat impairs organ function, from preclinical obesity, where excess body fat poses increased health risks but organ and whole-body function remain preserved.
Source link
