Reframing obesity and MASLD (Nature)

his World Obesity Day, the focus shifts from individuals to systemic factors shaping health, such as policy, healthcare systems, and social determinants like food security. A new commission in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology calls for a shift away from BMI as the primary diagnostic tool for obesity, introducing ‘preclinical obesity’ and ‘clinical obesity’ to better classify disease progression. Similarly, experts argue that metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) should be classified as a non-communicable disease (NCD) alongside cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and chronic respiratory disease. With MASLD affecting 30% of the global population, integrating it into public health strategies could drive more effective interventions.