Beyond BMI: New report reframes obesity as a spectrum of illness, not just a risk factor

The body mass index is not going away, a new report suggests, but it could be demoted to just a first step in making a more nuanced diagnosis of obesity as a disease, one that distinguishes between what is and isn’t (yet) an illness requiring treatment. 

A Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology global commission on clinical obesity published Tuesday acknowledges that BMI — the familiar metric derived from height and weight — may be useful as a screening tool before more medically relevant indicators, principally excess body fat, are called into play. BMI can tell us about the health of populations, but for the individual sitting in a primary care office, how their fat levels might be affecting organ function is much more telling. 

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