Experts want to redefine obesity to improve the health of millions of people in the world

A report prepared by experts from all over the world warns that the risk of diagnosing too many people is running, and that a “more precise” and “nuanced” definition is needed on this term.

Doctors should take into account the general health of patients with excess fat, instead of limiting their body mass index (BMI), says the report.

Those who suffer from chronic diseases caused by their weight should be diagnosed with “clinical obesity”, but those who do not have health problems should be diagnosed “preclinical obesity.”

It is estimated that more than one billion people suffer from obesity worldwide, so there is a great demand for thinning medications.

The report, published in the magazine The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinologyhas the support of more than 50 medical experts from around the world.

New look

“Obesity is a spectrum,” says Francesco Rubino, professor at King’s College in London and president of the group that carried out the investigation.

“Some suffer from it and manage to lead a normal life, function normally.”

“Others cannot walk or breathe well, or go in a wheelchair and have serious health problems.”

The report urges to “reformulate” the concept of obesity to distinguish between patients with a disease and those who remain healthy, but run the risk of diseases in the future.

Currently, in many countries, obesity is defined as having an BMI greater than 30, a measure that estimates body fat based on height and weight.

Access to medicines to lose weight as Wegovy and Mounjaro is usually restricted to patients in this category.

However, according to the report, the BMI does not reveal anything about the patient’s general health, and does not distinguish between muscle and body fat or take into account the most dangerous fat around the waist and organs.

The experts advocate a new model that takes into account the signs of obesity that affect the organs of the body – such as heart disease, dyspnea, type 2 diabetes or joint pain – and its detrimental impact on everyday life.

This indicates that obesity has become a clinical disease and needs pharmacological treatment.

However, people with “preclinical obesity”, instead of drugs and surgery, should be offered tips to lose weight, advice and monitoring to reduce the possibilities of health problems. A treatment may also be necessary.

“Unnecessary treatment”

“Obesity is a health risk; The difference is that for some it is also a disease, ”said Professor Rubino.

The expert added that it was sensible to redefine it to know the level of risk in a wide population, instead of the current “blurred image of obesity.”

According to the report, the quotation-sturars or direct measurement of fat, together with a detailed medical history, can offer a much clearer image than the BMI.

Louise Bour, an expert in child obesity of the University of Sydney who collaborated in the preparation of the report, affirms that the new approach will allow obese adults and children to “receive more appropriate attention”, while reducing the number of overdiagnostics and unnecessary treatments.

At a time when drugs are prescribed on a large scale that reduce body weight by up to 20%, the report states that this “rethinking” of obesity “is so much more relevant” since “improves the accuracy of the diagnosis.”

“LIMITED FINANCING”

The Royal College of Physicians of London states that the report feels solid bases “to treat obesity with the same medical rigor and compassion as other chronic diseases.”

Distinguish between preclinical and clinical obesity would be “a vital step” and “empower

Many fear that the pressure on health budgets will translate into less money for “preobesos” patients.

Jim Mann, co -director of the Edgar Center for Research on Diabetes and Obesity, in Otago, New Zealand, said that it was likely to emphasize “in the needs of those who are defined as clinically obese” and that the limited financing “most likely” is allocate to them.

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