VOA健康报道2025--Health Experts Seek New Ways to Identify and Treat Obesity

A group of international experts is proposing a new way to define and identify obesity¹ - a medical condition linked to having too much body fat. The change aims to help doctors better identify and treat affected² individuals.

The new proposal shifts attention from a highly debated method called the body mass index (BMI). BMI is a calculation of a person's height and weight.

The change would mean BMI would no longer be the only way to define obesity. The method would be expanded to include other measurements, such as waist size, and other evidence of health problems linked to being overweight.

Obesity is estimated to affect more than 1 billion people worldwide. In the U.S., about 40 percent of adults are considered obese³, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

Dr. David Cummings of the University of Washington was one of 58 writers of a report calling for a new obesity definition. The report recently appeared in the publication The Lancet Diabetes⁴ & Endocrinology.

"The whole goal of this is to get a more precise definition so that we are targeting the people who actually need the help most," Cummings told The Associated Press.

The report introduces two new groups, called categories, to help doctors identify, or diagnose, obese individuals. These are clinical obesity and pre-clinical obesity.

People with clinical obesity meet BMI and other markers of obesity. They also have evidence of organ, tissue or other problems caused by too much weight. Such evidence could include heart disease, high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease or ongoing⁵ knee or hip⁶ pain.

People identified as having clinical obesity would be able to get treatments, including diet and exercise programs, as well as obesity medications.

People with pre-clinical obesity are at risk for the same conditions, but they have no ongoing illness, the report states.

BMI has long been considered a weak measure for obesity. In some cases, it can incorrectly diagnose obesity, which is currently defined as a BMI of 30 or more.

But people with too much body fat do not always have a BMI above 30, the report notes. And people with a high level of muscle mass - such as American football players or other athletes - may have a high BMI even with normal fat mass.

Under the new definitions, about 20 percent of people who used to be identified as obese would no longer meet that definition, early data suggests. And about 20 percent of people with serious health effects - but a lower BMI - would now be considered clinically obese.

Cummings said the new definition would not greatly change the percentage of people defined as having obesity. But, he explained, the new categories "would better diagnose the people who really have clinically excess fat."

More than 75 medical organizations around the world have supported the new definitions. But it is not clear how widely or quickly the definitions could be approved. The report predicts such changes would carry big costs and have major effects on the workforce⁷.

Dr. Katherine Saunders is an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She also co-founded the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. She told the AP there are some practical issues to consider in order to make the proposed changes work effectively.

Saunders noted⁸ that waist circumference⁹ sounds simple, but measurement methods differ. In addition, doctors are trained differently, and standard medical measuring devices are not big enough for many obese people.

Also, a decision about the difference between clinical and pre-clinical obesity would require a full health examination and lab tests, Saunders said. She added that for a new system to be widely accepted, "it would also need to be extremely quick, inexpensive, and reliable."

The new definitions could also be difficult for people to understand or carry out, said Kate Bauer of the University of Michigan School of Public Health. "The public likes and needs simple messages. I don't think this differentiation¹⁰ is going to change anything," she said.

Dr. Robert Kushner, of the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, said changing the definition of obesity will take some time. Kushner, a co-writer of the report, said, "This is the first step in the process...I think it's going to begin the conversation."

Words in This Story

precise - adj. exactly or sharply defined

excess - adj. more of something than is usual or needed

practical - adj. relating to real situations or actions and not to thoughts or ideas

circumference - n. the outside boundary (or perimeter) of a circle

standard - adj. well-established and very familiar; regularly and widely used, available

reliable - adj. giving the same results on repeated tests

conversation - n. an exchange of ideas, opinions, observations, etc.

1 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 obese   

adj.过度肥胖的，肥大的

参考例句：

• The old man is really obese,it can't be healthy.那位老人确实过于肥胖了，不能算是健康。
• Being obese and lazy is dangerous to health.又胖又懒危害健康。

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

7 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

10 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。