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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.” Getty Images: There is a difference between people with excess weight who can do physical activity and lead a healthy life and those that do not, the report says. 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. Getty Images: access to medicines to lose weight like Wegovy and Mounjaro is usually restricted to patients with a high BMI. 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. Getty images: BMI is not an index that gives us information about the person’s health, says the report. 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. BBC: Click here To read more BBC News World Stories. Subscribe here To our new newsletter to receive every Friday a selection of our best content of the week. You can also follow us in YouTube, Instagram, Tiktok, X, Facebook And in our new WhatsApp channelwhere you will find last minute news and our best content. And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and act. (tagstotranslate) Causes of obesity

Image source, Getty Images photo caption, Experts say that people with excess body fat can still be active and healthy. Item information Author, Philippa Roxby Author’s title, BBC News, Health Correspondent January 16, 2025 A report prepared by experts from around the world warns that there is a risk of diagnosing too many people with obesity, and that a “more precise” and “nuanced” definition of this term is needed. Doctors should take into account the overall health of patients with excess fat, rather than simply measuring their body mass index (BMI), the report says. Those who suffer from chronic diseases caused by their weight should be diagnosed with “clinical obesity,” but those without health problems should be diagnosed with “preclinical obesity.” It is estimated that more than one billion people suffer from obesity worldwide, so there is a great demand for weight loss medications. The report, published in the magazine The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinologyis supported by more than 50 medical experts from around the world. New look “Obesity is a spectrum,” says Francesco Rubino, a professor at King’s College London and president of the group that carried out the research. “Some suffer from it and manage to lead a normal life, function normally.” “Others cannot walk or breathe well, or are in a wheelchair and have serious health problems.” Image source, Getty Images photo caption, There is a difference between overweight people who can be physically active and lead healthy lives and those who cannot, the report says. The report calls for “reframing” the concept of obesity to distinguish between patients with a disease and those who remain healthy but are at risk of disease in the future. Currently, in many countries, obesity is defined as having a BMI greater than 30, a measure that estimates body fat based on height and weight. Access to weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro is usually restricted to patients in this category. However, according to the report, BMI reveals nothing about a patient’s overall health, and does not distinguish between muscle and body fat or take into account the more dangerous fat around the waist and organs. Experts advocate a new model that takes into account the signs of obesity that affect the body’s organs – such as heart disease, dyspnea, type 2 diabetes or joint pain – and its detrimental impact on daily life. This indicates that obesity has become a clinical disease and needs pharmacological treatment. Image source, Getty Images photo caption, Access to weight loss medications such as Wegovy and Mounjaro is often restricted to patients with a high BMI. However, people with “preclinical obesity”, instead of drugs and surgery, should be offered weight loss advice, counseling and follow-up to reduce the chances of health problems developing. Treatment may also be necessary. “Unnecessary treatment” “Obesity is a health risk; the difference is that for some it is also a disease,” Professor Rubino said. The expert added that it was sensible to redefine it to know the level of risk in a broad population, instead of the current “blurred image of obesity.” According to the report, waist-to-height ratio or direct measurement of fat, along with a detailed medical history, can provide a much clearer picture than BMI. Image source, Getty Images photo caption, BMI is not an index that gives us information about a person’s health status, the report says. Louise Baur, a childhood obesity expert at the University of Sydney who helped produce the report, says the new approach will allow obese adults and children to “receive more appropriate care”, while reducing the number of overdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments. At a time when drugs that reduce body weight by up to 20% are being prescribed on a large scale, the report states that this “rethinking” of obesity “is all the more relevant” as it “improves the accuracy of diagnosis.” “Limited funding” The Royal College of Physicians of London says the report lays a solid foundation “for treating obesity with the same medical rigor and compassion as other chronic diseases.” Distinguishing between preclinical and clinical obesity would be “a vital step” and would “highlight the need to identify and intervene early,” while providing appropriate care to patients whose health was already severely affected, the college said. Many fear that pressure on healthcare budgets will mean less money for “pre-obese” patients. Jim Mann, co-director of the Edgar Center for Diabetes and Obesity Research in Otago, New Zealand, said there was likely to be an emphasis “on the needs of those defined as clinically obese” and that limited funding was “very likely” to be intended for them. Subscribe here to our new newsletter to receive a selection of our best content of the week every Friday. And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.