Groups unveil new obesity treatment guidelines
By Jonathan Chin / Staff writer, with CNA
Doctors yesterday unveiled new obesity prevention and treatment guidelines that emphasize waist measurements and tailoring medical treatment to disease severity.
The Diabetes Association of the Republic of China and 13 other groups jointly developed the Taiwan Clinical Practice Guidelines on Adult Obesity and Obesity-Related Complications and Diseases, the coalition of medical associations told a news conference in Taipei.
About 51.3 percent of Taiwanese are overweight or obese, making excess weight a major public health concern, the groups said.
Representatives from medical societies hold signs at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: CNA
The new guidelines modify the diagnostic criteria and medical intervention strategy used in obesity prevention and treatment, Diabetes Association of the Republic of China president Yang Wei-hsiung (楊偉勛) said.
The document places increased emphasis on waist circumference and the waist-to-height ratio as better indicators of visceral fat and metabolic risk than body mass index (BMI) alone, he said.
BMI does not differentiate the contributions of muscle and fat to body weight, nor does it show doctors how fat is distributed throughout the body, Yang said.
These metrics are important for identifying the many people who have “normal weight obesity,” meaning they might have excessive lipid accumulation in the abdomen and internal organs, yet maintain a normal BMI and body shape, he said.
These traits are tied to fatty liver, metabolic disorders and other harmful conditions, Yang said.
Another major feature of the guidelines divides obesity into three stages of differing severity, he said.
Stage I indicates no obesity-related comorbidities and a medical response that focuses on prevention, while Stage II indicates mild to moderate comorbidities, Yang said.
Stage III indicates severe comorbidities that require treatment to slow disease progression and reduce the risk of organ damage, he said.
The revised guidelines cover 16 categories of obesity-related conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular conditions, fatty liver, sleep apnea and kidney disorders, Yang said.
Doctors should set weight-loss targets for each person according to their medical condition, he said.
People with a BMI of 24 to less than 30 should have their waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio calculated, Formosan Diabetes Care Foundation director Li Hung-yuan (李弘元) said.
Men with a waist size of 90cm or more, women with a waist of 80cm or more and people with a waist-to-height ratio of 0.5 or higher would have excessive lipid accumulation under the amended guidelines, he said.
People with a BMI of 30 or higher can be diagnosed with obesity without measurements under the new guidelines, Li added.
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