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The Guardian World1 min read
UK researchers develop tool to identify people most at risk of obesity-related diseases
TL;DR
UK researchers have developed a new tool to identify individuals at high risk of obesity-related diseases, aiming to improve access to weight-loss medications. This tool provides a personalized approach, moving beyond traditional BMI measurements.
Key points
- UK researchers developed a tool for obesity-related disease risk assessment
- The tool offers a personalized approach to identify at-risk individuals
- About two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese
- The tool could help prioritize access to weight-loss medications
- Prof Nick Wareham from the University of Cambridge co-authored the study
Mentioned in this story
University of Cambridge
NHS
A new tool that can shed light on who is most at risk of obesity-related diseases could help identify people who would benefit most from weight-loss medications, researchers have said.
Recent data suggests about two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese – a situation that has caused concern among health experts.
Now researchers have developed a tool that, they say, offers an accurate and personalised approach to identifying those at risk of obesity-related conditions.
They add it could be useful for prioritising who should receive interventions, such as weight-loss jabs, given that access on the NHS is limited and currently based simply on having a high body mass index (BMI) and particular obesity-related health problems.
Prof Nick Wareham, of the University of Cambridge, a co-author of the study, said the measure was not about extending the use of particular therapies.
“It’s about developing and validating a score that can help with more rational resource allocation. So, can we prescribe therapy to those people who are most likely to need it and most likely to benefit from it – which is what we should do within the NHS,” he said.
Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, the team reports how it applied a type of AI called interpretable machine learning to data from almost 200,000 participants of the long-running UK Biobank project, each of whom had a BMI of 27 or greater, meaning they are overweight or obese.
This ultimately allowed the team to identify 20 health, lifestyle and demographic features – including age, sex, total cholesterol, and creatinine levels – which could predict the 10-year risk of 18 different obesity-related complications, from gout to stroke.
More specifically, for each condition, researchers were able to place participants in one of five equal-sized categories, from low to high risk. And, for each category, the team calculated the proportion of people who had the condition over a 10-year period.
The team tested the validity of the tool, dubbed Obscore, using UK Biobank data, and datasets from two independent health studies.
Q&A
What is the new tool developed by UK researchers for obesity risk assessment?
The new tool helps identify individuals most at risk of obesity-related diseases, allowing for targeted interventions.
How does the obesity risk tool improve access to weight-loss medications?
It prioritizes individuals based on personalized risk factors rather than solely relying on BMI, which can enhance access to weight-loss treatments.
What percentage of adults in England are overweight or obese?
Recent data indicates that about two-thirds of adults in England are classified as overweight or obese.
Who is Prof Nick Wareham and what is his role in the obesity research?
Prof Nick Wareham is a co-author of the study from the University of Cambridge, contributing to the development of the new obesity risk assessment tool.
