The way the world defines obesity has been in need of an overhaul, according to some experts, and it could be coming soon thanks to a new set of standards.

Obesity affects over 1 billion people globally, with 40 percent of U.S. adults classified as obese under the present framework,

BMI, a widely used measure, has long been criticized for being too simplistic. It calculates obesity based only on height and weight, often misclassifying individuals. For example, athletes with high muscle mass may have a high BMI despite having normal fat levels.

The observational study, led by Washington University clinical epidemiologist ... by Eli Lilly – for people with a body mass index (BMI) of more than 35 and at least one weight-related illness.

Experts say clinical obesity is more than a high BMI and instead is a disease in which excess body fat harms tissues, organs or doing daily activities.

A new report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology challenges the conventional reliance on Body Mass Index (BMI) to diagnose obesity, advocating for a more nuanced definition. The international commission,

New recommendations on how to define obesity would reduce the emphasis on body mass index and also take into account health problems from extra weight and other measurements

A new report noted that body mass index does not provide a nuanced enough assessment of health as it relates to weight

Wen is an emergency physician and adjunct associate professor at George Washington University. She previously was Baltimore’s health commissioner. CNN: What is BMI? What are the advantages and ...

The number does not capture a person's muscle mass; where on their body fat is stored; or how their race, ethnicity and gender affect health risks.

However, this classification system assumes that weight alone is a reliable indicator of health, disregarding important variables such as body composition, muscle mass, and bone density. These assumptions are increasingly being challenged, particularly when it comes to diverse ethnic groups.

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