Study suggests not all obesity means ill-health

By Jennifer Rigby LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Only between a quarter and a third of people currently diagnosed with obesity should be considered as in poor health, according to a new study that joins calls to overhaul how the condition is diagnosed. The study, published in Nature on Wednesday, follows a proposal last year from experts and medical organisations to move obesity diagnosis beyond just body mass index (BMI), based on a person’s weight and height, to include body fat and broader health.

The study attempts to show what this new definition could mean for diagnosis levels, prevalence, and ultimately, treatment, for a condition the World Health Organization currently estimates affects more than one billion people globally. Obesity can be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver and kidney disease and cancer.

The study suggests defining it as pre-clinical, when the condition is largely a risk factor, and clinical, when it is causing ill health.