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Experts currently lack ability to 'meaningfully' define obesity
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WASHINGTON — At the Consensus Conference on Obesity, experts agreed that they must address the lack of a meaningful definition of obesity to better treat patients and address issues of reimbursement and education.
“It’s fascinating that we still don’t have a precise definition,” George Grunberger, MD, FACP, FACE, vice president of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, said during the discussion.
The consensus conference conducted breakout sessions in which small groups addressed five questions of obesity in the areas of biomedical; government and regulatory; health industry and economics; and organizations, education and research.
George Grunberger
Today, the experts summarized these discussions and addressed each question, with the first being: What is obesity?
Co-moderators of the breakout sessions presented various definitions and characteristics of obesity from BMI and chronic disease to “the most under-reimbursed major disease in the US,” according to Daniel Einhorn, MD, FACP, FACE, who co-moderated the health industry and economics session.
“People felt that these anthropomorphic measures — BMI, waist circumference, range of BMI — have value but don’t necessarily reflect the impact of that weight gain on the health of the individual, and perhaps that should be brought into the definition in the presence and severity of complications,” W. Timothy Garvey, MD, chair of the conference, said. “Even then, we don’t really have all the answers or a proper way to meaningfully define obesity. There’s a knowledge gap here and we need more research.”
W. Timothy Garvey
Jeffrey I. Mechanick, MD, FACN, FACP, FACE, ECNU, co-chair of the conference and AACE president, said he saw this consensus as a way to bring the medical and public health models together and detect emerging properties.
“We don’t have to actually solve those problems, but frame out the questions. If we can frame those questions out from the evidence base, we’re going to deliver something,” Mechanick said. -- by Katrina Altersitz
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Presented at: The AACE/ACE Consensus Conference on Obesity; March 23, 2014; Washington, DC.
Disclosure: The consensus conference is supported by Covidien, Eisai, Ethicon, Novo Nordisk, Takeda and Vivus.