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BMI is wrong way to measure obesity, researchers say — here’s what they recommend instead

Published

1 year ago

January 20, 2025

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BMI is wrong way to measure obesity, researchers say — here’s what they recommend instead

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A group of 58 researchers is calling for a new, better way to measure obesity.

The global team’s recommendations were published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology on Jan. 14.

Body mass index (BMI) has been the international standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, according to many sources, though some experts have questioned its validity.

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A person’s BMI is calculated by dividing his or her weight by the square of his or her height in feet.

Body mass index (BMI) has been the international standard for measuring obesity since the 1980s, according to many sources, though some experts have questioned its validity. (iStock)

“Obesity is a complex problem and has different significance at the individual level,” the report’s lead author Francesco Rubino, chair of bariatric and metabolic surgery at King’s College London, United Kingdom, told Fox News Digital.

Obesity is a “spectrum,” he said, rather than a “single, distinct clinical entity.”

Rubino went on, “It is impossible to say if obesity is a disease or not, as disease status cannot coincide with body size or mere excess body fat.”

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The Commission on Clinical Obesity has proposed a “reframing” of obesity that distinguishes between people who have a disease here and now, and those who may have a risk for future disease, Rubino said.

Instead of relying solely on BMI, the researchers recommend also measuring adiposity, which is the amount of excess body fat.

A person’s BMI is calculated by dividing his or her weight by the square of his or her height in feet. (iStock)

Adiposity can be determined by measuring a person’s waist circumference or taking body scans to measure fat mass, according to the researchers.

The group of experts recommends using two levels of obesity: preclinical and clinical.

With preclinical obesity, the person has excess body fat that has not affected the function of their tissues and organs.

“People with clinical obesity suffer from a chronic illness and should be treated in the same way as people who suffer from any other chronic disease.”

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The person may have, however, an increased risk of developing clinical obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer, the researchers noted.

Clinical obesity is defined as “a chronic, systemic illness characterized by alterations in the function of tissues, organs, the entire individual or a combination thereof, due to excess adiposity.”

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With clinical obesity, the person may experience “severe end-organ damage, causing life-altering and potentially life-threatening complications,” the researchers wrote.

Potential effects of clinical obesity may include heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.

“As these categories of obesity are entirely new, we can’t measure their relative prevalence in the population,” Rubino noted. “Doctors have not yet had the possibility to make such a diagnosis, because many of the organ dysfunctions that characterize clinical obesity have not been routinely assessed so far.”

When excess body fat is confirmed, clinicians should assess individuals to determine whether obesity may have caused any organ dysfunction, the study researcher said. (iStock)

The researchers call for future studies into these diagnoses.

“We recommend that clinicians thoroughly assess people with obesity in the clinic and use other measures of body size — waist circumference or others — to understand if an increased BMI level is due to excess body fat or other reasons, like increased muscle mass,” Rubino told Fox News Digital.

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When excess body fat — meaning obesity — is confirmed, clinicians should assess individuals to determine whether obesity may have caused any organ dysfunction, the researcher said.

“People with clinical obesity suffer from a chronic illness and should be treated in the same way as people who suffer from any other chronic disease,” Rubino said.

People with preclinical obesity should undergo “evidence-based health counseling, monitoring of their health status over time, and, when applicable, appropriate intervention to reduce risk of developing clinical obesity,” they wrote.

Between August 2021 and August 2023, approximately 40% of U.S. adults had obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around 9.4% of those adults had severe obesity.

‘Outdated measure’

Dr. Brett Osborn, a neurosurgeon, longevity expert and fitness competitor based in Florida, agrees that BMI is an “outdated measure” for diagnosing obesity.

“It is clear that obesity should no longer be defined solely by physical appearance or weight.”

“As medicine evolves, it is clear that obesity should no longer be defined solely by physical appearance or weight — or weight relative to height, as in BMI calculations,” the doctor, who was not involved in this new research, told Fox News Digital.

“Instead, the condition must be understood through the lens of metabolic dysfunction.”

Obesity isn’t just a disease of excess weight, Osborn said, but a “systemic metabolic disorder requiring nuanced and individualized care.”

The condition is better measured by looking at factors like inflammation, insulin resistance and glucose tolerance, according to the doctor.

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In some cases, using BMI can result in “muscular athletes” being labeled as obese, he noted, and people with “normal” BMI can sometimes have “harmful” levels of visceral (abdominal) fat.

Osborn noted that in his own clinic, he and his team do not use BMI, relying instead on visceral fat scores, skeletal muscle mass and body fat percentage.

In some cases, using BMI can result in “muscular athletes” being labeled as obese, one doctor noted. (iStock)

Skeletal muscle mass (the muscles that connect to the bones) is critical to physical strength and metabolic efficiency, Osborn said.

For optimal health, he recommends that males aim for 50% skeletal muscle mass relative to total body weight and females target 45% — although other factors, like age and fitness levels, come into play.

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“Remember, your resilience — your ability to ward off disease — resides in your muscle,” Osborn added.

“By integrating body composition metrics, metabolic markers and personalized assessments, we can more accurately diagnose obesity and tailor interventions to each individual.”

Health

Common nighttime noise exposure may trigger heart problems, study suggests

Published

2 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Common nighttime noise exposure may trigger heart problems, study suggests

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Living near heavy traffic could negatively impact your heart health.

A European study, published in the journal Environmental Research, found that exposure to nighttime road traffic noise is linked to changes in the blood, leading to worsened cholesterol and cardiovascular risks.

The researchers considered data from the U.K. Biobank, Rotterdam Study, and Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, including more than 272,000 adults over the age of 30, according to a press release.

Nighttime road noise exposure was estimated at all participants’ homes based on national noise maps. Researchers also took blood samples to measure the participants’ metabolic biomarkers for disease, then mapped the link between nightly noise levels and existence of biomarkers.

Exposure to loud noise was associated with increased concentrations of cholesterol-related biomarkers. (iStock)

The study found that people exposed to louder noise at night — especially sounds above 55 decibels — showed changes in 48 different substances in their blood. Twenty of these associations “remained robust” throughout all cohorts.

Exposure to loud noise was associated with increased concentrations of cholesterol-related biomarkers, especially LDL “bad” cholesterol, IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein) and unsaturated fatty acids.

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As noise levels increased, starting at around 50 decibels, cholesterol markers rose steadily, the release stated.

The authors concluded that this study “provides evidence that nighttime road traffic noise exposure from 50 dB upward is associated with alterations in blood cholesterol and lipid profiles in adults.”

Researchers noted a link between traffic noise and cardiometabolic disease. (iStock)

Study co-author Yiyan He, doctoral researcher at the University of Oulu in Finland, noted that in this type of research, small effect sizes are expected, and environmental exposures such as traffic noise are “typically modest.”

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“Despite this, we observed statistically robust and consistent associations across many biomarkers, especially those related to LDL and IDL lipoproteins,” she told Fox News Digital.

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“We also identified a clear exposure-response pattern starting at around 50 dB, suggesting that metabolic changes become more evident as noise levels increase.”

This aligns with public health guidance, as the World Health Organization recommends lower nighttime noise limits at around 40 to 45 dB, Yiyan He added.

“This finding may clarify the association between traffic noise and cardiometabolic diseases,” the researchers wrote. (iStock)

“The 55 dB level is often used as an interim benchmark associated with substantial noise annoyance and sleep disturbance,” she said. “In our study, we observed associations not only at 55 dB, but also indications of effects emerging at around 50 dB.”

The strength and consistency of the cholesterol-related associations were surprising, as these changes are usually “subtle.”

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“Instead, we found consistent associations across multiple large European cohorts, which strengthens confidence that the findings may reflect real biological patterns,” Yiyan He went on. “We were also interested to see that effects were minimal below ~50 dB, suggesting a possible threshold-like pattern.”

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The researcher noted that these findings were consistent across genders, education levels and obesity status.

The study was restricted to White Europeans, which posed a limitation. There was also a lack of information on the fasting status in the UK Biobank.

Changes in cholesterol levels were more severe than researchers expected. (iStock)

“Fasting can influence levels of certain metabolites, particularly fatty acids,” Yiyan He said. “However, based on UK Biobank documentation, fewer than 10% of participants were fasting for at least eight hours, and our main findings focused on cholesterol-related biomarkers, which are generally less sensitive to short-term fasting.”

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The researchers also lacked information on bedroom location, indoor noise exposure and time spent at home.

“These factors may introduce non-differential exposure misclassification,” Yiyan He said. “Additionally, noise exposure estimates were based on participants’ temporary residential addresses at the time of blood sampling, without considering the duration of residence.”

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“Many of these limitations would tend to bias results toward the null, so the consistent associations we observed remain noteworthy.”

Experts recommend taking measures to limit traffic noise at night. (iStock)

Based on this latest research, Yiyan He noted that nighttime noise is a “health-relevant exposure,” not just “an annoyance.”

“Our findings suggest that nighttime traffic noise may subtly but consistently affect metabolic health,” she said. “While the changes in cholesterol and lipid levels for any one individual are small, traffic noise affects a very large number of people, which means the potential public health impact could be substantial.”

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The researcher recommends taking measures like improving sound insulation, using noise-reducing strategies and placing bedrooms on the quieter side of the home when possible.

“Because sleep is a key pathway linking noise to health, protecting the nighttime sleep environment is especially important,” she added.

Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.

Health

The Best Time To Drink Coffee for Weight Loss and a Faster Metabolism

Published

13 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

The Best Time To Drink Coffee for Weight Loss and a Faster Metabolism

The Best Time To Drink Coffee for Weight Loss and Fat Burn | Woman’s World

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