BMJ  2006;333:695-698 (30 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7570.695

Practice

ABC of obesity

Assessment of obesity and its clinical implications

department of diabetes and endocrinology, University College London Hospitals.

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

Obesity can be assessed in several ways. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, and the appropriateness and scientific acceptability of each method will depend on the situation.

For weight measurement subjects should ideally be in light clothing and bare feet, fasting, and with empty bladder; repeat measures are best made at same time of day

 

View this table:   Levels of health risks associated with waist circumference (cm), defined by waist circumference action levels in white men and women

 

The assessment methods often measure different aspects of obesity—for example, total or regional adiposity. They also produce different results when they are used to estimate morbidity and mortality. When there is increased body fat, there will also be necessary increases in some lean tissue, including the fibrous and vascular tissues in adipose tissue, heart muscle, bone mass, and truncal or postural musculature. All these non-fat tissues have a higher density (1.0 g/ml) than fat (0.7 . . . [Full text of this article]

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BM"I" may be a risk factor in obesity but cannot be a measure of obesity in itself.

C Kevin Connolly
bmj.com, 1 Oct 2006 [Full text]

Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, or Pulse by Mass Index as Risk Factor ?

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MRI not CT

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