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The medical industry changed the way obesity is defined and guess what happened? They found that way more people count as obese than before.
A new study in JAMA Network Open looked at what happens when you move away from using BMI as the only measure of obesity. Instead, researchers added waist and body-fat distribution measurements — things like waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio — to better reflect metabolic risk. The result? Obesity rates jumped from 43% to nearly 69%. That’s a 60% increase just by changing the definition.
BMI came under fire for being racist and sexist so it was ditched as the sole measure of obesity. But now, with this broader definition, millions more Americans suddenly qualify as “obese,” and therefore as potential patients in need of medical management, meaning drugs, surgeries, or ongoing “weight care.”
It feels like that really backfired, huh?