Reevaluating Obesity Metrics | 17 Jan 2025

Source: HT 

The long-standing reliance on Body Mass Index (BMI) for diagnosing obesity is increasingly being questioned due to its limitations. 

• BMI can overestimate obesity in muscular individuals like athletes and underestimate obesity in those with excessive fat but low muscle mass. 
• The Lancet recommends using alternative metrics such as waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio, which consider gender, age, and ethnicity differences. 
  • Obesity should be classified as pre-clinical (no organ dysfunction) and clinical (with organ dysfunction and activity impairment). 
• BMI is a measure used to assess whether a person has a healthy body weight for a given height. It is calculated using a person's weight and height. 
• Obesity in India: As per The Lancet, 70% of India's urban population is classified as obese or overweight. 
  • India ranks 3rd, just behind the US and China, in the list of top 10 countries with the highest number of obese individuals. 
  • Obesity is a health condition caused by excessive body fat, diagnosed when BMI is 30 or higher. 

Read More: Growing Obesity in India