Recently, Obesity Matters was featured in a Healthing.ca article around Obesity, World Obesity Day, and BMI-based measures. A short excerpt can be found below:
“The aim is for medical practitioners to understand and treat obesity as a disease, rather than a lack of willpower. Big picture, the criteria will help to reduce the stigma for people with larger bodies and help them access proper care.
“This is more like a reframing of obesity and giving it a new definition, new terminology, on preclinical and clinical obesity, to treat obesity beyond just BMI (body mass index),” says Dr. Sandy Van, an obesity physician in Toronto and medical advisor to patient advocacy group Obesity Matters.
“One of the advantages is that they actually recognize obesity as a disease with varying levels of severity, so preclinical obesity identifies individuals at risk before organ damage occurs, while clinical obesity focuses on those already experiencing health complications. And this approach helps healthcare providers personalize treatment priorities.”