Instead of using the controversial body mass index, or BMI, to assess weight, an international group of scientists proposes an approach that looks at how excess body fat affects health

An international committee of scientists has proposed changing the way obesity is defined and diagnosed. The proposal adds more ways to measure body composition and fat.

But the risk to health and wellbeing is not determined by weight – and therefore BMI – alone. We've been part of a global collaboration that has spent the past two years discussing how this should change.