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New obesity definition sidelines BMI to focus on health

Fresh approach to diagnosing the condition looks at how excess body fat affects the body.
By
  1. Giorgia Guglielmi

    1. Giorgia Guglielmi is a science journalist in Basel, Switzerland.

Amid the rising buzz around Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs, a group of 58 researchers is challenging the way obesity is defined and diagnosed, arguing that current methods fail to capture the complexity of the condition. They offer a more nuanced approach.

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Nature 637, 773-774 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-00123-1

References

  1. Rubino, F. et al. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00316-4 (2025).

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  2. GBD 2019 Risk Factors Collaborators Lancet 396, 1223–1249 (2020).

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