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 says only using BMI to determine if a patient has obesity leads to under-diagnosing people who are ill and over-diagnosing people who don't currently deal with the negative health consequences of obesity.

A group of global experts is proposing a new way to define and diagnose obesity, reducing the emphasis on the controversial body mass index and hoping to better identify people who need treatment for the disease caused by excess body fat.

How we define obesity needs to become more nuanced, a report has argued, with BMI (body mass index) as a measure alone being too simplistic.

Our reframing acknowledges the nuanced reality of obesity and allows for personalized care,” said Dr. Francesco Rubino of King’s College London.

Global experts advised in addition to BMI, measuring 'waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or waist-to-height ratio' be used

The new definition proposed by the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission, a group of 58 leading experts from various medical specialties and countries, moves beyond a simple cutoff mark for Body Mass Index (BMI),

BMI (Body Mass Index) uses your height and weight to work out a measurement to gauge if your weight is healthy. The BMI calculation is: Weight in kilograms divided by

An international committee of scientists has proposed changing the way obesity is defined and diagnosed. The proposal adds more ways to measure body composition and fat.

But the risk to health and wellbeing is not determined by weight – and therefore BMI – alone. We've been part of a global collaboration that has spent the past two years discussing how this should change.

BMI is an outdated measure of health, say experts – there’s a raft of new checks that could give a clue to your current wellbeing – and a pathway to an active, longer life