Health Experts Seek New Ways to Identify and Treat Obesity

01A group of international experts is proposing a new way to define and identify obesity, a medical condition linked to having too much body fat.

02The change aims to help doctors better identify and treat affected individuals.

03The new proposal shifts attention from a highly debated method called the Body Mass Index, BMI.

04BMI is a calculation of a person's height and weight.

05The change would mean BMI would no longer be the only way to define obesity.

06The method would be expanded to include other measurements, such as waist size and other evidence of health problems linked to being overweight.

07Obesity is estimated to affect more than 1 billion people worldwide.

08In the U.S., about 40% of adults are considered obese, the U.S.

09Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

10Dr.

11David Cummings of the University of Washington was one of 58 writers of a report calling for a new obesity definition.

12The report recently appeared in the publication, The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology.

13The whole goal of this is to get a more precise definition so that we are targeting the people who actually need the help most, Cummings told the Associated Press.

14The report introduces two new groups, called categories, to help doctors identify or diagnose obese individuals.

15These are clinical obesity and preclinical obesity.

16People with clinical obesity meet BMI and other markers of obesity.

17They also have evidence of organ, tissue, or other problems caused by too much weight.

18Such evidence could include heart disease, high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease, or ongoing knee or hip pain.

19People identified as having clinical obesity would be able to get treatments, including diet and exercise programs, as well as obesity medications.

20People with preclinical obesity are at risk for the same conditions, but they have no ongoing illness, the report states.

21BMI has long been considered a weak measure for obesity.

22In some cases, it can incorrectly diagnose obesity, which is currently defined as a BMI of 30 or more.

23But people with too much body fat do not always have a BMI above 30, the report notes.

24And people with a high level of muscle mass, such as American football players or other athletes, may have a high BMI even with normal fat mass.

25Under the new definitions, about 20% of people who used to be identified as obese would no longer meet that definition, early data suggests.

26And about 20% of people with serious health effects, but a lower BMI, would now be considered clinically obese.

27Cummings said the new definition would not greatly change the percentage of people defined as having obesity.

28But, he explained, the new categories would better diagnose the people who really have clinically excess fat.

29More than 75 medical organizations around the world have supported the new definitions.

30But it is not clear how widely or quickly the definitions could be approved.

31The report predicts such changes would carry big costs and have major effects on the workforce.

32Dr.

33Catherine Saunders is an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.

34She also co-founded the obesity treatment company, Flight Health.

35She told the AP there are some practical issues to consider in order to make the proposed changes work effectively.

36Saunders noted that waist circumference sounds simple, but measurement methods differ.

37In addition, doctors are trained differently, and standard medical measuring devices are not big enough for many obese people.

38Also, a decision about the difference between clinical and preclinical obesity would require a full health examination and lab tests, Saunders said.

39She added that for a new system to be widely accepted, it would also need to be extremely quick, inexpensive, and reliable.

40The new definitions could also be difficult for people to understand or carry out, said Kate Bauer of the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

41The public likes and needs simple messages.

42I don't think this differentiation is going to change anything, she said.

43Dr.

44Robert Kushner, of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, said changing the definition of obesity will take some time.

45Kushner, a co-writer of the report, said, This is the first step in the process.

46I think it's going to begin the conversation.

47I'm John Russell.

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