Health2 updates
New waist-based obesity definition debate
What happened before and after this story. Background events not previously covered were summarised by AI.
- Background
Expert commission proposes adding waist measurement to BMI in defining obesity
In January 2025, a Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology commission proposed defining obesity with BMI plus waist measures, and splitting clinical from preclinical cases.
Measure your waist too: new obesity definition adds 40% more cases in Spain
A Nature study of 844,108 adults found that adding waist size to BMI lifts obesity in Spain from 18.7% to 26.1%, the biggest jump of the four countries studied.