A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled ‘Implications Of A New Obesity Definition Among The All Of Us Cohort’ revealed that 68.6% of US adults qualify as obese, compared to 42.9% under the previous BMI-only standard.
Obesity is a concerning public health crisis across the globe, with experts pointing fingers mostly to an unhealthy diet and a sedentary lifestyle. The World Health Organization (WHO) once declared obesity a global pandemic and it is not limited to high-income countries but also a growing problem in low-and middle-income nations.
A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) titled ‘Implications Of A New Obesity Definition Among The All Of Us Cohort‘ revealed that 68.6% of US adults qualify as obese, compared to 42.9% under the previous BMI-only standard.
80% Adults Aged 70 And Above Meet New Obesity Criteria
Researchers examined 3,01,206 US adults’ data to conclude the recent study in which they found that the rise in the overweight condition came mostly from people who had a normal BMI but showed excessive signs of fat distribution.
The finding further revealed that the new obesity definition affects older adults strongly than ever. Among the cohorts of people aged 70 years and above, 80% met the new obesity criteria.
What is more concerning about the new findings is that most of the people who met the new criteria showed elevated risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and organ dysfunction.
Need For New Obesity Criteria
Obesity was earlier defined using Body Mass Index (BMI), in which people with a BMI 30 or above were considered obese. However, scientists claim that labelling obesity through BMI readings has many limitations.
Thus, a new framework proposed earlier this year by researchers included BMI and anthropometric measures such as waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, or direct fat measurements.
What Is The New Approach
Under the new framework using sex- and race-specific thresholds, someone with BMI above the traditional obesity threshold plus at least 1 elevated anthropometric measure or BMI greater than 40 would be classed as ‘BMI-plus-anthropometric obesity’.
A person with normal BMI with at least 2 elevated anthropometric measures of fat distribution would be classified as ‘anthropometric-only obesity’.
Obesity is further classified into two types: The new framework defines ‘clinical obesity’ as when it causes organ problems like liver or heart issues. Whereas ‘preclinical obesity’ is when those organs have not appeared yet.
Obesity Health Risks
Experts say that people living with abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in their waist are pose to increased risk of medical conditions like type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, fertility problem, sexual function problems, and mental health issues like stress, eating disorde, etc. The WHO states that in 2019, about 5 million noncommunicable disease (NCD) deaths were occured which were linked to higher-than-optimal BMI.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) claimed, “Overweight and obesity may increase your risk for many health problems especially if you carry extra fat around your waist. Reaching and staying at a healthy weight can help prevent these problems, stop them from getting worse, or even make them go away.”
The US health agency also claims that lossing excessive weight has found to improve body image and self esteem, also reducing symptoms of depression.
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