The meat of the obesity problem

New metrics are needed to diagnose this health condition, which is rising in India

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Obesity's links with many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and the consequent health burden make it a health concern of singular importance for both people and policy. Yet, for decades now, the world has used a rather flawed metric to diagnose it—Body Mass Index (BMI), an estimation of body fat content based on weight relative to height.

While a BMI of 30 or above is considered obesity, this remains prone to errors of both over- and under-estimation of body fat content and attendant risks.