Up to 70% of Americans may be obese: Harvard study

According to research on more than 300,000 Americans from the All of Us Research program out of Harvard University, the prevalence of obesity rose to about 70 percent from about 40 percent when a different metric than traditional measures is used. 

In January, a Lancet Commission proposed an updated obesity definition that is potentially “more accurate,” according to experts, and would include more than just body mass index (BMI).

“Traditionally, obesity has been defined by a high BMI, where BMI reflects weight relative to height. However, BMI is an imprecise measure of body composition as it does not distinguish between fat and muscle or indicate fat distribution,” author of the study Lindsay T. Fourman, an endocrinologist at Mass General and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School told Newsweek.

“The new Lancet definition goes beyond BMI to better capture body composition by incorporating anthropometric measurements [measurements of the human body] like waist circumference or waist-hip ratio that can be easily obtained in a doctor’s office,” she added.

Also, she said, ‘Our data indicate that people with preclinical obesity are still at higher long-term risk of health complications compared to those without obesity. Additionally, clinical obesity prevalence increased with age, suggesting that preclinical obesity may progress to clinical obesity over time.”

Often, those individuals with preclinical obesity get a “lower urgency and intensity” of care than those with obesity.

Dr. Raveendhara Bannuru, chief methodologist and representative of the American Diabetes Association (ADA)’s Professional Practice Committee said, “Bias and stigma have long been barriers to effective obesity care.” The Obesity Association publishes standards of care for the overweight and obese.

Dr. Armando Castro-Tie, chair of surgery at South Shore University Hospital Northwell Health, addressed the stigma around obesity, saying that “it’s short sighted,” knowing that there are treatments available, and that it’s “our duty to make sure that we are identifying who these individuals are in an unbiased and in a scientifically rigorous way to make sure that we are affording everybody who fits these criteria.”

The study authors acknowledged that more research is needed.