Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on the definition and diagnosis of clinical obesity

Obesity was first recognised as a disease by WHO in 1948, then between 2013 and 2022 by several medical societies and countries. However, the notion that obesity is a disease and not merely a risk factor for other illnesses remains highly controversial, both within and beyond medical circles. This debate constitutes far more than arcane semantics, and seriously affects the provision of therapeutic strategies to improve health among people living with obesity.

A group of leading worldwide experts has established the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on clinical obesity. This Commission aims to identify clinical and biological criteria for the diagnosis of clinical obesity. Akin to diagnostic methods for chronic diseases in other medical specialties, these criteria should reflect a substantial deviation from the normal functioning of tissues, organs, and the whole organism, with considerable effects on the individual’s ability to conduct daily activities.

The Commission on clinical obesity is organised as a partnership between The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology and the Institute of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity at Kings Health Partners (London, UK).

The overarching aim of this initiative is to help inform decision making of clinicians and policy makers to facilitate identification of priorities for clinical interventions and public health strategies. Defining obesity clinically is implicitly a call for all to pay greater attention to the effects of this illness on individuals with obesity, just as is done for other diseases that cause human suffering and premature mortality.