New Obesity Classification May Help to Improve Cardiometabolic Risk Detection

Dr Sanjay Kalra, Treasurer, International Society of Endocrinology (ISE), Vice President, South Asian Obesity Forum (SOF), Bharti Hospital, Karnal, INDIA

A new system using body fat percentage (BF%) and waist circumference (WC) identified more patients at very high cardiometabolic risk than the traditional body mass index (BMI)-based approach.

Obesity is quite commonly assessed using body mass index (BMI), but BMI does not directly measure body fat or show where fat is distributed in the body. This can limit its ability to accurately estimate cardiometabolic risk and prevent any related illnesses. Researchers therefore explored whether combining body fat percentage (BF%) and waist circumference (WC) could provide a better way to classify obesity and related health risks.

A recent study aimed to evaluate a new obesity phenotyping system based on both the amount and distribution of body fat. Researchers created a classification matrix using three BF% categories and three WC categories, resulting in nine body phenotypes that were grouped into five cardiometabolic risk levels.

The study included 12,754 adults from both sexes, aged 18 to 88 years, with a wide range of adiposity levels. The new classification system showed a clear stepwise increase in cardiometabolic risk across the five groups based on the Metabolic Syndrome Severity Score. Significant differences were also observed in other cardiometabolic risk factors.

Compared with a similar model using BMI and WC, the new system identified an additional 24% of patients at very high cardiometabolic risk. The findings suggest that combining BF% and WC may provide a more detailed and clinically useful way to assess obesity-related health risk.

(Reference: Gómez-Ambrosi J, Catalán V, Ramírez B, et al. Cardiometabolic risk stratification using a novel obesity phenotyping system based on body adiposity and waist circumference. Eur J Intern Med. 2024;124:54-60. doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2024.02.027)