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The Apnea Patient's News, Education & Awareness Network |
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The Apnea Patient's News, Education & Awareness Network |
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The percentage of Americans who are overweight or obese will go from about one-third of all Americans to more than half based on the first federal guidelines on the identification, evaluation and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults that will become official on Wednesday, June 17th. The new guidelines will be released by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), reports Medical Weight Loss Clinic.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said, "...these clinical practice guidelines for physicians present a new approach for the assessment of overweight and obesity and establish principles of safe and effective weight loss."
According to the guidelines, assessment of overweight involves evaluation of three key measures -- body mass index (BMI), patient's risk factors for diseases and conditions associated with obesity, and waist circumference.
"Medical Weight Loss Clinics have been using BMI to diagnose overweight and obesity for more than two years. We have found BMI to be the best way to determine who is overweight or obese," Dr. Jerry Cooper, Medical Director of Medical Weight Loss Clinics, said.
The NIH says that according to the guidelines, 97 million American adults -- 55% of the population -- are now considered overweight or obese. These people are at increased risk of illness from hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, respiratory problems, certain cancers, and other health problems. It also recommends that BMI be determined in all adults.
"We know that overweight and obesity shortens lives and puts people's health at risk. Using the BMI index has helped us to diagnose the problem and help our patients lose weight, either through our standard programs or using Meridia, a new drug therapy," Dr. Cooper said.
The expert panel that developed the guidelines defined overweight as a BMI of 25 to 29.9 and obesity as a BMI of 30 or more. BMI describes body weight relative to height and is strongly correlated with total body fat content in adults. Using the guidelines, a BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight and is equivalent to a 6-foot-tall person weighing 221 pounds or a 5-foot-6-inch person weighing 186 pounds.
The NIH recommends FDA approved weight loss drugs be used for patients with BMI over 30 without additional risks, and for patients with BMI over 27 for those with two or more of the following risk factors -- diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and sleep apnea. They also recommend drugs only be used as part of a comprehensive weight loss program that includes dietary therapy and physical activity.
"These are the same BMI guidelines we use for our drug therapy patients. With the federal government using the BMI index, we should be able to diagnose more people and save more lives by helping overweight and obese people lose weight. And, if we can help more people lose weight, it will also cut down on health costs for all of us," Dr. Cooper said.
The guidelines were developed by a 24-member expert panel chaired by Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, director of the Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. They are being reviewed by 115 health experts at major medical and professional societies.
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