Obesity association clarifies definitions of obesity and links with drug firms

doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7557.44

BMJ 2006;333:44 (1 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7557.44

Letter

Obesity association clarifies definitions of obesity and links with drug firms

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Your reports referring to childhood obesity definitionsin the USA and the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) containederrors.^{1 2} The task force is part of the International Associationfor the Study of Obesity (IASO), this year celebrating its 20thanniversary as the body uniting researchers, clinicians, healthprofessionals, and others concerned with obesity worldwide.

The IOTF has no role in the childhood obesity expert group convenedby the American Medical Association, the Centers for DiseaseControl, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.You report a proposal to adopt the 85th and 95th centiles asreference points for overweight and obesity in children. Inthe USA these cut-off points are termed "at risk" and "overweight."³Your readers may judge whether this is an effort to "expandthe definition" of obesity and whether your imputation of someattempt to exaggerate the obesity problem has any foundation.

You refer to . . . [Full text of this article]

Neville Rigby, director of policy and public affairs

International Association for the Study of Obesity, London NW1 2NS nrigby@iaso.org

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