The diagnosis and evaluation of patients with obesity

While BMI can suffice as a screening tool for obesity, it is insufficient per se for diagnosis since it is not a direct measure of adipose tissue mass. Clinical confirmation is required to assure that elevated BMI values are indicative of excess adiposity. More importantly, BMI does not reflect the impact of adiposity on the health of the patient. Therefore, evaluation and diagnosis involves both an anthropometric component (e.g., BMI) and a...