A global group of experts has suggested a new approach to diagnosing and treating obesity that does not rely solely on the much-contested body mass index (BMI).

An international and widely supported group of experts is pushing doctors to avoid the exclusive use of BMI to decide whether someone has obesity, alongside other major changes.

Use precise geolocation data and actively scan device characteristics for identification. This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. List of Partners (vendors)

Is obesity a disease or a risk factor for disease? In medical circles – and outside of them – the question is contentious, with supporters on either side. In a newly published report, the Global Commission on Clinical Obesity has strived to settle the debate,

“We recommend that BMI should be used only as a surrogate measure of health risk at a population level, for epidemiological studies, or for screening purposes, rather than as an individual measure of health,” the report reads.

When the issue is obesity, the questions are many, and the routes to answers anything but straight. What is abundantly clear is a need for consensus on two foundational matters: What is a useful definition for obesity?

This is done to store and access information on a device and to provide personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. List of Partners (vendors) Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver,

Medical experts have urged a shift away from the Body Mass Index (BMI) as the main yardstick to determine obesity as it does not factor in body fat levels. The prevalent method is so flawed that it may have likely led to fit athletes being told they are overweight,