(CNN) — For years, medical experts have defined obesity primarily based on body mass index, which measures stored fat by calculating height and weight, to determine a person’s health risks. Major ...

Elizabeth Cooney is a cardiovascular disease reporter at STAT, covering heart, stroke, and metabolic conditions. You can reach Liz on Signal at LizC.22. The body mass index is not going away, a new ...

Body mass index, the most common measure of obesity, may be woefully inadequate. May 2, 2010— -- The scale of the obesity epidemic may be much worse than currently believed since the usual ...

Is obesity a disease or a risk factor for disease? In medical circles – and outside of them – the question is contentious, with supporters on either side. In a newly published report, the Global ...

In 2024, the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) published an updated framework for classifying obesity that recognizes that the use of BMI is a limited tool in defining the condition ...

If you've ever stood on a scale at the doctor's office only to be told your health status based on a single number, you're ...

Body mass index uses your height and weight to estimate your body fat. Here’s what this number can and can’t tell you about your health. Body mass index (BMI) is a way that doctors measure your risk ...

The data linking soda taxes to beneficial health outcomes is far murkier than media reports suggest. Taxes alter consumer behavior. The more something is taxed, the less of it we get. Knowing this, ...

Recently, an international commission proposed a revised definition of obesity that focuses on how excess body fat affects the body, and factors in waist circumference, rather than simply calculating ...