Overview
- A USC team led by Brian Lee, which published its analysis Monday, June 1, 2026, applied the Lancet-backed adiposity criteria to NHANES data and reported that 78% of U.S. adults met the new definition of obesity.
- The study found about 26% of people with a normal BMI met criteria for clinical obesity and just over 50% of people with an overweight BMI were reclassified as clinically obese.
- The Lancet-backed framework adds waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio or direct fat measures to BMI and separates clinical obesity (with organ or functional harm) from pre-clinical excess adiposity.
- Researchers warn routine use of BMI alone means many people with harmful excess fat may be missed for screening and care, while eligibility for GLP-1 drugs and bariatric surgery remains tied to older BMI cutoffs and is unchanged and uncertain for reclassified patients.
- The authors published a simple tape-measure guide for clinicians and individuals and called for prospective studies and randomized trials to test whether diagnosing and treating people reclassified by adiposity measures improves outcomes and alters policy on coverage and access.