Is obesity a disease? | Mint<img src='https://sb.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035286&cv=4.4.0&cj=1'>SubscribeSign inView Market DashboardHomeLatest NewsMarketsMarket NewsMark to MarketCommoditiesLive BlogsCryptocurrencyIPOStock MarketsMarket DataStock PagesIndex pagesBullionGold SilverFuelPetrolDieselNewsIndiaWorldWSJEconomistUS NewsTrendsPremium e-paperGlobal Partners WSJEconomistBarron'sMint SpecialsMint ExplainersMark to MarketLong StoryMint PrimerSnapviewSectionsCompaniesTechnologyMarketsMoneyMutual FundsInsuranceAutoIndustryPersonal FinanceCompaniesStart-upsCompany ResultsPeopleMoneyPersonal FinanceInsurance Ask Mint MoneyMutual FundsMyMintIPL Schedule 2025Personal LoanTechnologyGadgetsTech ReviewsApp News5G TechFoldable SmartphonesMint HindiMoreElection 2025OpinionAuto NewsSportsOrange Cap in IPLPurple Cap in IPLCricket NewsIPL 2025EducationTools IFSC Code FinderIncome Tax CalculatorMint LoungeMintGenie Multi-MediaVideosWebStories Photo GalleryPodcastsExplore MintAbout usPrint subscriptionMint AuthorsSubscriber terms of usePrivacy PolicyTerms of UseDisclaimerMint codeCookie PolicyCode of ethicsSitemapContact UsHindustan TimesLive HindustanHealthshotsCredit CardSunita Williams News LIVE Hello UserSign inSign OutMy AccountSubscribeMy WatchlistNewslettersNotificationsMy ReadsFor YouView Less -View More +Data InsightsMarket DashboardBullionGoldSilverFuelPetrolDieselCommoditiesGoldGoldMAluminumMenthaoilSilverSilverMICGoldPetalNatural GasCopperZincSilverMCrudeOilGoldGinueaLeadCryptoCurrenciesView Less -View More +Top SectionsToday's NewsIndia NewsWorld NewsUS News TodayBudget 2025EconomyMoney NewsPersonal FinanceQ&AOpinionCompany Business NewsIPO NewsStart-upsCompany ResultsTop Company LeaderStock Market NewsStock MarketsCommodity NewsMark To MarketIPO NewsLive Blogpersonal loanpersonal loan emi calculatorPersonal Loan Interest RatePersonal Loan EligibilityBusiness LoanInstant LoanElection Results 2025Assembly Elections 2025Indian Industry AnalysisBanking NewsInfotech NewsInfrastructureAgricultureManufacturingEnergy NewsRetail NewsAuto NewsSports NewsOpinionViewsColumnsTechnology NewsGadgetsTech ReviewsApp NewsPolitics NewsLoungeBusiness of LifeSports NewsIPL 2025 IPL 2025 Points Table IPL 2025 Orange CapIPL 2025 Purple CapIPL Match Today | IPL 2025 ScheduleEducation News TodayView Less -View More +Premium Offeringse-paperWSJEconomistBarron'sMyMintMint PremiumView Less -View More +Tools and CalculatorsIFSC Code FinderIncome Tax CalculatorSIP CalculatorEMI CalculatorHome Loan EMI CalculatorCar Loan EMINPS CalculatorView Less -View More +MultiMedia CollectionsVideosWebStoriesPhoto GalleryPodcastsView Less -View More +More From MintMint GenieMint LoungeMint HindiView Less -Explore MintAbout UsPrint SubscriptionMint AuthorsTerms of UseDisclaimerMint CodeCode of ethicsCookie PolicyPrivacy PolicySubscriber - Terms of UseSITEMAPContact UsMint AppsView Less -View More +Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limited All Rights Reserved.Is obesity a disease?It wasn’t. But it is nowThe EconomistPublished19 Mar 2025, 03:53 PM ISTUntil two years ago, such discussion was of little practical relevance since there were few treatments for obesity. (Image: Pixabay)For years there has been a push to recognise obesity as a disease in its own right, and therefore something that needs to be treated in and of itself, rather than just as a risk factor for other things, such as diabetes, heart disease, strokes and some cancers. And there is indeed much evidence that being obese can result in exceptionally poor health. But many who are obese are not unwell in the slightest. This argues that obesity per se should not be treated as an illness.Until two years ago, such discussion was of little practical relevance since there were few treatments for obesity between the extremes of bariatric surgery and the old-fashioned approach of eating less and exercising more. However, the arrival in 2023 of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs in the form of semaglutide (known commercially as Wegovy) changed that. If these drugs are to be prescribed sensibly and fairly, then who among the fat is sick and who is not becomes an important question.By coincidence (they started before GLP-1 drugs were approved for slimming), a group of 56 doctors have just answered that question. This group, called the Lancet Commission, and organised by the journal of that name, have developed a better way of diagnosing obesity—one that distinguishes when it has become pathological.The usual current measure of obesity is body mass index (BMI). This has the advantage of being easily calculated (by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by the square of their height in metres). Obesity is then defined as a BMI of more than 30. But some people with a high BMI show no signs of being unwell. And, absurdly, stocky and well-muscled athletes have been known to qualify as obese according to this classification. Nor does BMI take account of fat’s bodily distribution. Yet it is well established that visceral fat (stored around the internal organs, for an “apple-shaped” body), is far more unhealthy than subcutaneous fat (stored directly under the skin, for a “pear-shaped” one). The commission’s recommendations, though, take care of these points.To diagnose their newly defined disease, which they call “clinical obesity”, the commissioners require two things. First, the addition of a third measure of body size (waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio or waist-to-height ratio) to those used to calculate BMI—though measuring body fat directly, with sophisticated modern scanning tools is even better. Second, if this revised measurement does, indeed, proclaim an individual to be obese, some objective signs and symptoms of reduced organ function, or ability to conduct daily activities—such as bathing, eating and dressing—are also needed to declare that obesity to be clinically relevant.The 18 diagnostics the commissioners have lit on include breathlessness, obesity-induced heart failure, knee or hip pain, and obesity-driven signs of dysfunction in many other organs, such as the liver, heart, kidneys and urinary and reproductive systems. Those without these symptoms are not let off scot-free. They are assigned to a limbo called “preclinical obesity” since, though not ill, they are reckoned to have an increased risk of developing clinical obesity and thus becoming so. But they are not candidates for immediate drug treatment.Francesco Rubino, a professor in metabolic and bariatric surgery at King’s College, London, who is also one of the commissioners, reckons describing obesity as an actual disease is quite a radical shift. The next task—one which others have already started, he says—is to work out who among the 1bn or so people on the planet who were classified as obese according to the old definition qualify as being clinically obese under the new one, and thus in need of treatment. Preliminary work, he says, suggests 20-40% of them.The commission’s approach already seems popular with medical officialdom. Seventy-six of the world’s leading health organisations, including the American Heart Association, the Chinese Diabetes Society and the All Indian Association for Advancing Research in Obesity, have already endorsed it. How quickly it will percolate into medical practice and public perceptions of who is and is not dangerously obese is another matter.© 2025, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.comCatch all the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.Business NewsScienceHealthIs obesity a disease?MoreLessFirst Published:19 Mar 2025, 03:53 PM ISTGet Instant Loan up to ₹10 Lakh!Enter Mobile NumberEmployment TypeSalariedSelf-Employed BusinessApply NowMost Active StocksMarket SnapshotTop GainersTop Losers52 Week HighTrending In Market Gold Price TodayMCX GoldUS Fed Meeting Suzlon share priceGensol share priceSpiceJet share price Recommended For YouMore RecommendationsGold Prices24K22KFuel PricePetrolDieselPopular in ScienceStory Url has been added to your clipboardDownload AppDownload the Mint app and read premium storiesTrending StoriesSunita Williams NASA astronaut images Amazon Layoffs Grok AI Champions Trophy 2025 Indian stock market Mark Carney Suzlon Share Price ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Points Table ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Schedule ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Most Runs ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Most Wickets Livemint Hindi Bank Holidays in Gujarat Bank Holidays in Delhi Bank Holidays in September Income Tax Calculator 2025 Bank Holidays in Jammu And Kashmir Instant Personal Loan Check Credit Score Online Business Loan Personal Loan Interest Rate Personal Loan Eligibility Personal Loan EMI Calculator Gold Rate in Delhi Gold Rate in Bangalore Gold Rate in Chennai Gold Rate in Hyderabad Gold Rate in Mumbai Business Radio - FAB Play Assembly Election Results Credit Card Personal Loan Online Gold Rate India Bank Holidays India Popular StocksJSW INFRASTRUCTURE share priceR R KABEL share priceCONCORD BIOTECH share priceIDBI Bank share priceYes Bank share priceAdani Power share priceHUL share priceIndian Oil share priceVedanta share priceJio Financial Services share pricePaytm share pricePunjab National Bank share priceCanara Bank share priceAdani Green Energy share priceIndian Railway Finance Corporation share priceSuzlon Energy share priceIREDA share priceVodafone Idea share priceOrient Technologies share pricePremier Energies share priceBajaj Housing Finance Share PriceGaruda Construction And Engineer share priceHyundai Motor India share priceNifty 50 companiesADANI ENTERPRISES share priceADANI PORTS share priceAPOLLO HOSPITALS share priceASIAN PAINTS share priceAXIS BANK share priceBAJAJ AUTO share priceBAJAJ FINANCE share priceBAJAJ FINSERVE share priceBPCL share priceBHARTI AIRTEL share priceBRITANNIA share priceCIPLA share priceCOAL INDIA share priceDIVIS LABORATORIES share priceDR REDDYS LABORATORIES share priceEICHER MOTORS share priceGRASIM INDUSTRIES share priceHCL TECHNOLOGIES share priceHDFC BANK share priceHDFC LIFE share priceHERO MOTOCORP share priceHINDALCO INDUSTRIES share priceHINDUSTAN UNILEVER share priceICICI BANK share priceITC share priceINDUSIND BANK share priceINFOSYS share priceJSW STEEL share priceKOTAK BANK share priceLARSEN & TOURBO share priceMAHINDRA & MAHINDRA share priceMARUTI SUZUKI share priceNTPC share priceNESTLE INDIA share priceONGC share pricePOWER GRID share priceRELIANCE INDUSTRIES share priceSBI LIFE share priceSBI share priceSUN PHARMA share priceTCS share priceTATA MOTORS share priceTATA STEEL share priceTATA CONSUMER share priceTECH MAHINDRA share priceTITAN share priceUPL share priceULTRATECH CEMENT share priceWIPRO share priceLatest StoriesSectionPremiumOpinionNewsMarketPoliticsCompaniesMoneySportsMutual FundIndustryTechnologyToolsIFSC Code FinderIncome Tax CalculatorSIP CalculatorHome Loan EMI CalculatorCar Loan EMINPS CalculatorData PagesMarket DashboardIndicesTop GainerMutual FundsGold PriceSilver PriceFuel PriceAbout UsMint AuthorsContact usTerms of UseCode of EthicsPrivacy PolicyRSSCopyright © 2025 HT Digital Streams Limited. 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