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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Obesity
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1444568

Body Mass Index is a Barrier to Obesity Treatment

Provisionally accepted
Geoffrey C. Chin Geoffrey C. Chin Adam W. Potter Adam W. Potter *Karl E. Friedl Karl E. Friedl
  • US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), Natick, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) obesity drug guidance is set on the basis of body mass index (BMI), with thresholds of either BMI ≥30 or BMI ≥27 kg/m 2 with weight-related comorbidities. While BMI is associated with obesity-related health outcomes, there are known limitations to use as a direct measure of body fat or metabolic health, and the American Medical Association has highlighted limitations of BMI in assessing individual obesity risks. BMI thresholds impose a barrier to treatment. In a sample from the NHANES dataset (n=6,646 men and women), 36% of individuals with metabolic syndrome (MetS) may not be eligible for obesity pharmacotherapy. This analysis provides quantifiable justification for refinement of the BMI treatment criteria with a more holistic assessment of individual obesity-related disease risk.

    Keywords: body fat, Body Mass Index, BMI, metabolic syndrome, Obesity

    Received: 05 Jun 2024; Accepted: 19 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chin, Potter and Friedl. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Adam W. Potter, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM), Natick, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.