Overview
- Applying the expanded definition to 301,026 All of Us participants raised obesity prevalence from 42.9% to 68.6%, according to a JAMA Network Open analysis by Mass General Brigham researchers.
- The increase was driven by people with normal BMI but elevated waist-based measures, who showed higher risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and mortality than people without obesity.
- The framework adds waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, waist-to-hip ratio, and direct fat measures to BMI to identify excess body fat and its distribution.
- About half of those meeting the new criteria met the study’s definition of clinical obesity, with prevalence approaching 80% among adults aged 70 and older.
- At least 76 organizations have endorsed the guidelines, and experts say the shift could affect eligibility and coverage for treatments such as GLP-1 drugs and bariatric surgery while prompting targeted research on newly identified groups.