Definition and Diagnostic of Clinical Obesity

© The Lanect Diabetes and Endocrinology, Clinical Obesity Commission, 14 January 2025, UK, online.

I’m happy to show you my new illustration for an important Commission from The Lancet Group Diabetes and Endocrinology, that seeks to define clinical obesity and its diagnostic criteria.

“Despite evidence that some people with excess adiposity have ill health due to obesity, obesity is generally considered a harbinger of other diseases, not a disease in itself. The idea of obesity as a disease remains therefore highly controversial. In addition, current BMI-based measures of obesity can both underestimate and overestimate adiposity and provide inadequate information about health at the individual level.
This Commission sought to define clinical obesity as a condition of illness that, akin to the notion of chronic disease in other medical specialties, directly results from the effect of excess adiposity on the function of organs and tissues. The specific aim of the Commission was to establish objective criteria for disease diagnosis, aiding clinical decision making and prioritisation of therapeutic interventions and public health strategies.”

Many thanks to the Editors for this opportunity!