New Delhi: Obesity can no longer be defined simply by body mass index (BMI) but should refer to how body fat is distributed throughout the body, researchers said while launching a new framework for diagnosing and managing obesity.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the framework specifically looks at accumulated fat in the abdomen, measured as "waist-to-height ratio," whose increased value is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic complications, according to the researchers. .
An "important novelty" of the framework is the inclusion of a waist-to-height ratio greater than 0.5, along with a BMI of 25-30, to diagnose obesity, according to the authors, representing the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), said.
"The choice to introduce waist-to-height ratio, rather than waist circumference, into the diagnostic process is due to its superiority as a risk marker for cardiometabolic disease," they wrote.
Abdominal fat accumulation is a more reliable predictor of health decline compared with BMI, even for people who do not meet the current standard cut-off value for diagnosing obesity, which is a BMI of 30, the researchers said. authors.
They said the current guidelines are based on evidence from studies in which participants who met cutoff values were included for analysis, rather than on a "full clinical evaluation."
"The basis for this change is the recognition that BMI alone is insufficient as a diagnostic criterion and that body fat distribution has a substantial effect on health," they wrote.
The researchers said that introducing the suggested changes to diagnostic processes could reduce the risk of undertreatment in this particular group of patients (low BMI and high abdominal fat) compared to the current BMI-based definition of obesity.
Published in the journal Nature Medicine, the framework specifically looks at accumulated fat in the abdomen, measured as "waist-to-height ratio," whose increased value is associated with a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic complications, according to the researchers. .
An "important novelty" of the framework is the inclusion of a waist-to-height ratio greater than 0.5, along with a BMI of 25-30, to diagnose obesity, according to the authors, representing the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO), said.
"The choice to introduce waist-to-height ratio, rather than waist circumference, into the diagnostic process is due to its superiority as a risk marker for cardiometabolic disease," they wrote.
Abdominal fat accumulation is a more reliable predictor of health decline compared with BMI, even for people who do not meet the current standard cut-off value for diagnosing obesity, which is a BMI of 30, the researchers said. authors.
They said the current guidelines are based on evidence from studies in which participants who met cutoff values were included for analysis, rather than on a "full clinical evaluation."
"The basis for this change is the recognition that BMI alone is insufficient as a diagnostic criterion and that body fat distribution has a substantial effect on health," they wrote.
The researchers said that introducing the suggested changes to diagnostic processes could reduce the risk of undertreatment in this particular group of patients (low BMI and high abdominal fat) compared to the current BMI-based definition of obesity.
