Obesity is increasingly recognized as a complex, multifactorial chronic condition that cannot be fully understood through the crude proxy measure of Body Mass Index (BMI) alone. As discussed in ‘Definition and Diagnostic Criteria of Clinical Obesity’ by Rubino et al. (2025), BMI, while widely used, fails to account for variations in body composition, fat distribution, and individual metabolic health. This limitation has led to a growing emphasis on more comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Our session will highlight the importance of considering factors such as visceral and ectopic fat, genetic predisposition, and metabolic dysfunction, which themselves whether alone or collectively can contribute significantly to obesity-related health risks. Moving beyond BMI allows for more personalised treatment plans, offering a more accurate understanding of the role of obesity in disease progression and improving clinical outcomes. This shift underscores the need for evolving clinical definitions and diagnostic criteria in obesity management.
