Experts are calling for a rethink of obesity criteria. This could result in millions of people of “normal” weight being diagnosed as obese. This was reported by Daily mail.
The body mass index (BMI) was developed by a Belgian mathematician in the 1830s. Since then, doctors have used a BMI of over 30 as a criterion for obesity. However, BMI does not take into account fat distribution and muscle mass. The term “skinny fat” (thin fat) was introduced for people with a high percentage of fat at normal weight. They are characterized by fat accumulation in the abdominal area, around the internal organs. It has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some cancers and dementia.
MRI can be used to assess the amount of fat around the internal organs. However, the WHtR indicator, which is the waist circumference-to-height ratio, is almost as accurate. A WHtR of 0.5 indicates a high amount of fat around the internal organs.
Experts recommend that obesity be diagnosed if a person’s BMI is over 25 and WHtR is over 0.5. Those diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension under these parameters will be prescribed Ozempic and Vegovi in the future. These revolutionary drugs against diabetes and obesity are now prescribed to people with a BMI over 30.
Earlier scientists I learnedIt is stated that Ozempic can reduce the risk of developing ten types of cancer.