Assessment and Evaluation

It is important to assess each individual patient thoroughly. A complete diagnosis will include both anthropometric and clinical considerations.

Patient Presentation

• Screen positive for overweight or obesity BMI ≥25 kg/m2 (≥23 kg/m2 in some ethnicities)

• Presence of obesity-related disease complication that could be improved by obesity treatment

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of a patient can be achieved through the following steps:

Evaluation

• Medical history

• Physical examination

• Clinical laboratory

• Review systems

• Emphasizing obesity-related complications

• Obesity history: graph weight vs age, lifestyle patterns/preferences, previous interventions

Anthropometric Diagnosis

• Confirm that elevated BMI represents excess obesity

• Measure waist circumference to evaluate cardiometabolic disease risk

Clinical Diagnosis

• Normal weight: <25 kg/m2 or <23 kg/m2 in certain ethnicities with waist circumference below regional/ethnic cutoffs

• Overweight: 25 kg/m2 –29.9 kg/m2

• Obesity: ≥30 kg/m2