Obesity and overweight, caused by an imbalance between calorie intake and physical activity, have become a global health problem. Although the body mass index (BMI) is the classic tool for diagnosing these conditions, specialists warn that it does not always reflect the impact of excess body fat.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies a BMI of 25 or greater as overweight, and a BMI of 30 or greater as obesity. However, a new approach focuses on metabolic disease associated with excess adiposity (MDEA), a more prevalent condition.
Juana Carretero, president of the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine (SEMI), emphasizes that fat can harm health by accumulating in organs such as the heart, liver, and joints, or by becoming dysfunctional due to its inflammatory composition. “Hypertrophic adipocytes generate basal inflammation that can lead to diseases such as heart failure or atrial fibrillation,” she points out.
To address this issue, Carretero emphasizes the need to go beyond BMI and use tools such as bioimpedance, a noninvasive method that measures body composition by differentiating between fat, muscle, and water. He also highlights the importance of considering abdominal circumference and classifying patients according to comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes, heart failure, or chronic kidney disease.
José Pablo Miramontes González, from the University of Valladolid, explains that obesity negatively impacts kidney health by promoting inflammatory and hemodynamic mechanisms, aggravated by risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes. Pablo Pérez Martínez, a professor at the University of Córdoba, points out that weight loss significantly improves comorbidities associated with dysfunctional fatty liver disease.
Regarding treatments, Carretero indicates that the new guidelines recommend a weight loss of more than 10% to control related diseases. New-generation medications have been shown not only to facilitate weight loss but also to improve metabolic profiles and reduce inflammation in fatty tissues.
Advances in the treatment of ADEM promise a hopeful future. “We are facing a new era that will transform the management of this disease, with effective and safe drugs,” concludes Dr. Carretero, highlighting the essential role of internists in identifying and treating at-risk patients. Understanding adiposity as a cause of chronic diseases paves the way for more comprehensive and effective medical strategies.
+ There are no comments
Add yours