{"title":"Obesity: can we cure our dependence on BMI?","authors":"Carla Delgado","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r241","url":null,"abstract":"Obesity remains defined by the flawed metric at the heart of its diagnosis—BMI. Carla Delgado reports on the fresh attempts to move away from this, as weight loss drugs usher in a new age for the obesity crisis The explosion in popularity of weight loss drugs such as semaglutide (Wegovy, Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro) has brought a twist to the management of obesity. Patients usually need to exceed a minimum BMI threshold and have at least one weight related health condition to get a prescription for a weight loss drug. And that’s again put a spotlight on the way obesity is defined, measured, and diagnosed. In January 2025, the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology global commission on clinical obesity tackled this head on. The report recommended a new framework that moves away from BMI as a singular indicator and instead approaches obesity as a disease spectrum.1 Experts say that not knowing what BMI means can lead to incorrect assumptions about a person’s health and risk of disease. This can affect the quality of care patients receive as well as hinder efforts to prevent and treat obesity.2 BMI has long been considered a quick and easy way to assess whether a person is at a “healthy” weight, but it does not take into account elements like body composition, age, sex, or other lifestyle factors.3 The metric is an indirect measure of body fat that does not indicate the degree to which excess adiposity affects the health of a person.4 BMI was never meant for evaluating health, says Fatima Stanford, an obesity medicine physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital and one of …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"133 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144088283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1026
Clare Dyer
{"title":"Assisted dying bill: MPs clash over role of doctors.","authors":"Clare Dyer","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1026","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"138 1","pages":"r1026"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144097757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The consultant anaesthetist who established a support group for autistic doctors","authors":"Kathy Oxtoby","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r784","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r784","url":null,"abstract":"Consultant anaesthetist Mary Doherty talks to Kathy Oxtoby about being autistic and being a doctor *Print headline* Role model: Mary Doherty When Mary Doherty was diagnosed as autistic in 2013, in her mid-40s, “looking back it explained so much of my life.” “But the question then was, ‘Can you be autistic and be a doctor?’” says Doherty, a clinical associate professor at University College Dublin School of Medicine, and a consultant anaesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospital, in Navan, Ireland. She connected with the autistic community, both online and in person, but couldn’t find any other doctors. “I recognised we needed a community space for doctors who are autistic.” Doherty started Autistic Doctors International (ADI) as a Facebook group in 2019 (https://autisticdoctorsinternational.com). It now has around 1200 members worldwide and hosts WhatsApp groups, as well as online and in-person meet ups. “We’re not just a peer support group—we are a vibrant community of colleagues and friends,” Doherty says. ADI is involved in advocacy, training, and research, “spreading knowledge and awareness …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"128 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144088288","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1024
Janice Hopkins Tanne
{"title":"Trump nominates unconventional doctor as new surgeon general.","authors":"Janice Hopkins Tanne","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1024","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"21 1","pages":"r1024"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144097759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-19DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1028
Jacqui Wise
{"title":"Personalised CRISPR therapy: Could it transform treatment of genetic disease?","authors":"Jacqui Wise","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1028","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"31 1","pages":"r1028"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144097769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Heterogeneous effects of Medicaid coverage on cardiovascular risk factors: secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial","authors":"British Medical Journal Publishing Group","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r859","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r859","url":null,"abstract":"After publication, by Inoue and colleagues ( BMJ 2024;386:e079377, doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-079377), the authors spotted a coding error. Specifically, the original code did not appropriately use the out-of-bag prediction in the …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144088267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1005
Kira Goodman, Liana Bailey, Megan Wright, Dave Lysecki
{"title":"UK’s palliative care commission offers global insight","authors":"Kira Goodman, Liana Bailey, Megan Wright, Dave Lysecki","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1005","url":null,"abstract":"Higginson and Ramjeeawon’s question—whether a palliative care commission can drive real change1—resonates far beyond the UK, offering global insight. Health systems everywhere face mounting strain: rising demand, workforce shortages, and persistent barriers to quality palliative care. In Canada, access to palliative care has improved in some regions, but remains deeply uneven. Jurisdictional differences, regional capacity, and …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"35 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066216","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1020
Sally Howard
{"title":"Nearly half of women's aid organisations working in crisis areas are at risk of closure, UN survey finds.","authors":"Sally Howard","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1020","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"125 1","pages":"r1020"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144083303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The BMJPub Date : 2025-05-16DOI: 10.1136/bmj.r1010
Adrian O'Dowd
{"title":"Health leaders call for ban on smacking in England to protect children.","authors":"Adrian O'Dowd","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r1010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r1010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"207 1","pages":"r1010"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144083298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Palliative care commission must focus on ageing population","authors":"Jugdeep Dhesi","doi":"10.1136/bmj.r998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r998","url":null,"abstract":"Higginson and Ramjeeawon discuss whether the new palliative care commission in the UK can drive real change.1 Any review of palliative and end-of-life care must look at the needs of the ageing population. Approximately 670 000 people die every year in the UK,2 of whom around 65% are aged over 75.345 The current palliative and end-of-life care model …","PeriodicalId":22388,"journal":{"name":"The BMJ","volume":"48 11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144066162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}