Instead of using the controversial body mass index, or BMI, to assess weight, an international group of scientists proposes an approach that looks at how excess body fat affects health

A new report says only using BMI to determine if a patient has obesity leads to under-diagnosing people who are ill and over-diagnosing people who don't currently deal with the negative health consequences of obesity.

Doctors worldwide should diagnose obesity differently, relying on broader criteria and taking into account when the condition causes ill-health, according to a new framework drawn up by experts and endorsed by 76 medical organizations internationally.

Obesity, long determined by the flawed metric of BMI, should be diagnosed based on other measurements, experts argue.

Major medical groups are proposing a change to how doctors diagnose obesity, moving away from the body mass index or BMI. The new definition intends to move away from weight stigma and instead focus on treatment.

When the issue is obesity, the questions are many, and the routes to answers anything but straight. What is abundantly clear is a need for consensus on two foundational matters: What is a useful definition for obesity?

As of March 2020, nearly 42% of US adults had obesity, with the report estimating that more than a billion people are living with obesity worldwide.