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Move over BMI: new obesity definition is better for predicting your health
Nature • • general
Key Points:
- A new study involving over 800,000 individuals found that measuring waist circumference combined with BMI, known as the CAD-obesity system, better predicts mortality risk than BMI alone.
- BMI, while simple to calculate, often misclassifies individuals because it does not distinguish between muscle and fat or account for fat distribution, particularly abdominal fat linked to greater health risks.
- The CAD-obesity definition classifies individuals with obesity into ‘clinical obesity’ if they have related health conditions, and ‘preclinical obesity’ if excess fat is present but without organ dysfunction, providing a more nuanced health assessment.
- Researchers validated the CAD-obesity system using long-term medical records from diverse populations in China, Spain, the UK, and the US, showing it more accurately identifies people at higher risk of death compared to BMI alone.
- This new framework challenges the traditional reliance on BMI and suggests a shift toward incorporating body fat distribution and related health issues for diagnosing and managing obesity.
