New clinical guidelines suggest doctors should look beyond BMI for diagnosing obesity to improve patient care.
Chicago: A new report is shaking things up in how doctors diagnose obesity. It’s saying that relying just on BMI isn’t cutting it anymore.
Published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, the guidelines point out that using only BMI can lead to misdiagnoses. Some people who are actually struggling with obesity might be overlooked, while others who are fine could be wrongly labeled as obese.
The report encourages doctors to take a broader view of a patient’s health. Vivek Prachand, a bariatric surgeon, emphasizes that this is about changing how we think about obesity as a disease.
For years, BMI has been the go-to measurement, but it’s not the whole story. A BMI of 30 or higher means obesity, but that doesn’t tell you much about an individual’s health.
The new guidelines recognize obesity as a disease, not just a risk factor. They suggest looking at things like organ health and body fat measurements, such as waist size, to get a clearer picture.
Prachand notes that while BMI can be useful for populations, it doesn’t really help with individual patients. It should be a screening tool, not the final word.
They’ve even introduced two new categories: clinical obesity, which is a chronic disease, and pre-clinical obesity, which is excess fat that hasn’t yet caused health issues but could in the future.
This distinction is important because it can help with insurance coverage for treatments. Right now, many medications require a BMI of 30 to qualify.
Also, since clinical obesity is a chronic illness, it shouldn’t need another condition, like diabetes, to get health coverage. Prachand argues that waiting for complications to arise before treating obesity doesn’t make sense.
Obesity is linked to serious health problems like diabetes and heart disease. By diagnosing and treating it early, doctors can help prevent these issues from developing.
Prachand believes it’s not just about avoiding health problems. Many patients struggle with daily life due to obesity. They often can’t move around easily or play with their kids.
He points out that if someone can’t climb stairs, that’s a real issue, even if they don’t have high cholesterol or diabetes. There’s no test for that kind of struggle.
