A new report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology challenges the conventional definition of obesity, and urges a shift from the reliance on Body Mass Index (BMI) to a more nuanced approach. This is supported by over 50 global medical experts. The report also recommends splitting the term "obesity" into two categories: "Clinical obesity" and "Pre-clinical obesity". This aims to improve diagnosis and treatment for over a billion people worldwide living with obesity.

Clinically Obese

This applies to individuals whose obesity has progressed to a disease state, manifesting in organ damage, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, or other health complications. These individuals could also experience symptoms like breathlessness, joint pain, or impaired daily functioning. Treatment also involves medical interventions, including weight-loss medications or surgery.

Pre-Clinic Obese

Whereas the term "pre-clinic obese" refers to those who are overweight but not yet exhibiting health issues. While they may be at risk of developing obesity-related conditions, their organ function and overall health remain intact. What they need is preventive care, which includes dietary guidance, counselling, and regular monitoring to avoid and reduce future health risks.

What does the study say?

The study, led by Professor Francesco Rubino from King's College London emphasizes that obesity is not one-size-fits-all condition. This means it should rather be treated as a spectrum as some individuals maintain normal organ function despite being classified as obese. There are others who may face severe health complications too. However, the current method of calculating obesity based on BMI often leads to misdiagnosis or inadequate care.

The report also states that BMI, while is useful for analyzing population trends, is a flawed unit of measuring individual health. Therefore, there is a need to redefine obesity, and healthcare professionals can provide more precise care by distinguishing those who need immediate medical intervention and those who require preventive strategies.

Limitations of BMI, Why It Falls Short?

BMI is used to classify individuals as underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese based on their height and weight. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by health in meters squared. However, there are reasons while it falls short.

•Muscle vs Fat: Athletes or muscular individuals often have high BMIs despite the low body fat

•Fat Distribution: BMI does not measure fat around the waist or organs, which could be more dangerous to one's health.

•Individual Health Variation: It also overlooks the specific health conditions such as heart diseases or diabetes, or any other, while evaluating a person's category in terms of weight.

ALSO READ: Is It Time To Say Goodbye To BMI?

Scope Of Study

By redefining obesity, the study could transform the approach to diagnosis and treatment. It can focus on individual health risks rather than BMI alone. Healthcare providers can also offer tailored care. This also will ensure hat weight-loss medications like Wegovy or Mounjaro are prescribed only to those who genuinely require it.

As per Professor Louise Baur from the University of Sydney, a Children's obesity expert said that this redefinition allows both adults and children to receive more appropriate care while reducing over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatments.

A 20-year-old UK student nearly died after accidentally taking two over-the-counter medicines that both contained paracetamol.

Riley Lubas, a first-year University of Bath student, developed a bad cold in March 2025. Days later, he developed severe stomach pain and was found to have serious liver damage.

What Happened?

Doctors initially suspected hepatitis, but Riley's condition rapidly worsened. He became delirious and hallucinated as his liver began to fail. His lungs and kidneys also stopped working, leaving him in multiple organ failure.

He was placed on life support and dialysis before being transferred to King's College Hospital in London, where doctors identified the cause after asking about his paracetamol use.

"It didn't necessarily help with a solution, but it was good to know the cause at last," his father, Chris, said.

Also read: ‘Zombie’ Drug Medetomidine, Spotted In Heroin Supply, Raises Concern As It Could Evade Overdose Antidote

Riley Had To Learn To Walk And Talk Again

Riley was assessed for a liver transplant after his parents were warned that some of the damage could be "irreversible". But his liver began to recover.

"We watched Riley's situation closely for a couple of days, and he continued to improve, until he was taken off dialysis and life support just a week later."

Riley spent six weeks at King's College Hospital and later moved to an ICU in Newport. After a tracheostomy and multiple organ failure, he had to relearn how to speak and walk.

"But just seeing him up and alive again was unbelievable," his father said.

Riley has since recovered and returned to work as a bartender.

"It was mad how quickly it all escalated," he said.

"Because I was already sick, when my stomach hurt I just assumed I'd caught a stomach bug, so I didn't notice the pain in my liver specifically."

"I'm just so grateful that I was able to come out the other end alright."

Why Combining Cold And Flu Medicines Can Be Risky

Read More: Are GLP-1 Drugs Safe for Children? Study Finds Nutritional Deficiency in Nearly 17% Within a Year

Riley's case highlights the risk of taking multiple medicines without realizing they contain the same active ingredient.

Dr Will Mackintosh, a GP and chairman of RCGP Cymru Wales, said accidental paracetamol overdose in young people was "a fairly rare occurrence", but warned that people can inadvertently take two products containing paracetamol, BBC reported.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned that "simple misunderstandings" about medicines can have serious consequences, highlighting the importance of checking the ingredients beforehand.

The Royal College of General Practitioners Cymru Wales also advised people to "read the label carefully" before taking medicines.

How Much Paracetamol Is Safe?

For most adults, the usual dose is 500 mg to 1,000 mg at a time, with at least four hours between doses.

The usual maximum is 4,000 mg in 24 hours, although some people may need a lower dose because of their weight, liver or kidney problems, alcohol use or other health conditions.

The important point is to count paracetamol from all medicines, including cold and flu products.

How Can An Overdose Damage The Liver?

The liver breaks down paracetamol. When too much is taken, a toxic substance can build up and damage liver cells. Severe overdose can lead to liver failure and death.

Early symptoms may include nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, but serious poisoning may not cause obvious symptoms immediately. Later signs can include jaundice, confusion and extreme sleepiness.

What To Do After Taking Too Much

If you think you have taken too much paracetamol — including by combining medicines that contain it — seek urgent medical advice immediately.

Do not wait for symptoms. Early treatment can reduce the risk of serious liver damage.

Always check the active ingredients on painkillers and cold and flu medicines before taking them together.

Doctors at a Mumbai hospital successfully performed a complex coronary angioplasty on an elderly diabetic patient with severely calcified coronary arteries using an advanced technique called Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL), helping restore blood flow to the heart despite multiple procedural challenges.

The patient, who had been experiencing symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease, was found to have extensive calcium deposits in the coronary arteries. Further evaluation also revealed poor blood flow in the leg arteries, making conventional vascular access for the procedure difficult.

What Is Coronary Artery Calcification?

Coronary artery calcification is commonly seen in elderly individuals and people with long-standing diabetes. Excessive calcium makes the arteries rigid and narrow, often making routine angioplasty technically challenging and increasing the risk of incomplete stent expansion, which can affect long-term outcomes

Severely calcified coronary arteries remain one of the biggest challenges in interventional cardiology. The calcium makes the arteries extremely rigid, making it difficult to properly expand the stent. In such situations, conventional angioplasty alone may not be sufficient.

Despite the patient’s complex anatomy and poor peripheral vascular access, the team successfully performed the procedure through the radial artery in the wrist, avoiding access through the diseased leg vessels.

Also read: Stopping Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro Linked To 22% Higher Heart Attack, Stroke Risk: Study

Breaking Deep Calcium Deposits In Artery Wall

To prepare the artery for stenting, doctors used Intravascular Lithotripsy (IVL), an advanced technology that delivers controlled sonic pressure waves to fracture deep calcium deposits within the artery wall. This allows the blood vessel to expand more effectively, enabling safe and optimal placement of the coronary stent.

IVL works on a principle similar to the technology used for breaking kidney stones, but it is specifically designed for heavily calcified coronary arteries. By modifying the calcium before placing the stent, we can achieve better stent expansion, reduce procedural complications and improve long-term outcomes in appropriately selected patients.

The procedure was completed successfully, with excellent blood flow restored to the affected coronary artery. The patient recovered well and was discharged in a stable condition.

Doctors say the case highlights how newer technologies are expanding treatment options for patients who were once considered extremely difficult to treat due to severe coronary calcification.

Advanced techniques such as IVL are transforming the management of complex coronary artery disease, particularly in elderly diabetic patients, allowing us to safely treat lesions that would have been significantly more challenging with conventional techniques alone.

The case underscores the growing role of advanced interventional cardiology in treating complex heart disease while minimising procedural risk and improving patient outcomes.

The biological landmarks that occur in a woman’s life include many factors and menopause is one of them. Menopause is usually identified with changes in menstrual cycle, hormone levels, hot flashes and even emotional health. Nevertheless, this stage of a woman’s life is also characterized by some other things and needs to focus on woman’s cardiovascular system.

Heart problems have long been considered as the problem that concerns mostly men. Nevertheless, today it is known that cardiovascular diseases still kill more women than anything else and take the lives of almost one-third of all women in the world.

The Hormonal Shift That Changes Heart Risk

Until menopause, estrogen gives the cardiovascular system a number of advantages. It maintains the proper state of the blood vessels and assists in cholesterol regulation and proper vascular functioning. But when the woman gets into menopause, the drop of oestrogen level can cause various internal alterations. They include the increase of LDL cholesterol level, the decrease of HDL cholesterol level, elevated blood pressure, metabolic alterations and abdominal fat accumulation.

All those alterations will increase the chance of getting cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure. According to the American Heart Association, the women become at greater risk for cardiovascular diseases after going through the process of menopause.

Also read: Is Controlling BP Enough After a Brain Bleed? Doctors Explain How to Prevent Another Stroke

Why Women Need Proactive Heart Health During Menopause

On the other hand, women may suffer from various symptoms that are associated with heart disease but differ from those in men. For instance, fatigue, breathlessness, nausea, lightheadedness, jaw pain, back pain or arm pain can sometimes go unnoticed and are misdiagnosed.

Therefore, awareness and medical consultation are vital. Health checkups, blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring, living healthy, eating healthy and individualized medical advice can greatly help in decreasing risks in the future.

Also read: Preeclampsia May End With Pregnancy. Your Heart Risk May Not

The Role of Comprehensive Women’s Healthcare

Treatment for menopause should not be restricted to treating symptoms; it should include care during the entire period of health transition.

Every woman's individual health requirements and guidance through various phases of life should be in accordance with her health needs.

Redefining Menopause: A Phase of Awareness, Not Fear

Menopause should never be seen as a deteriorating process but as a turning point where women can assess the state of their health and adopt preventative measures for their healthcare.

Ahead of World Heart Day, the issue of women’s heart health should go beyond just treating heart diseases and focus on preventive measures. It is not only about asking: “how do we treat heart disease in women?” It is also about asking: “how do we detect risk factors and help each woman protect her heart during one of the most critical periods in her life?” For when women understand what is going on in their body, they get the ability to make the right decisions about their health.

By Dr. Anupama Gangwal, Senior Consultant – Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cocoon Hospital, Jaipur