For decades, obesity has been measured and often judged primarily through body mass index (BMI). But emerging scientific consensus is reshaping this narrative. Obesity is increasingly recognized as a chronic, relapsing neuroendocrine disease, driven by complex interactions between the brain, gut hormones, adipose tissue, genetics, and environment not simply excess caloric intake or lack of willpower.
Advances in understanding hypothalamic regulation, leptin resistance, insulin signaling, and incretin pathways have highlighted obesity as a disorder of energy homeostasis. Modern guidelines are now shifting away from BMI-only classification toward a more comprehensive assessment that includes waist circumference, visceral adiposity, metabolic health markers, obesity-related complications, and functional impact. This complication-centric approach allows clinicians to stage disease severity…
