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A new global definition of childhood obesity, developed by an international panel convened by The Lancet, reduces the prevalence of the condition in youth to between 2.1% and 4.9%.
This revised standard shifts the diagnostic focus from body mass index (BMI) to the presence of excess body fat combined with specific health problems or functional limitations.
Under traditional BMI calculations, which measure weight relative to height, the rate of obesity among children and adolescents ranges from 7% to 10.8%.
The research, conducted by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute in Australia, indicates that the new criteria align more closely with current clinical practices where physicians evaluate underlying complications rather than relying solely on scale weight.
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