A new Mass General Brigham study found a large increase in the number of U.S. adults who meet the new definition of obesity.

The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology Commission recently expanded the definition of obesity to include measures of body fat distribution in addition to body mass index based on weight and height.

Under the new definition, the prevalence of obesity increased from 42.9% to about 68.6% among over 300,000 study participants, Mass General Brigham reported. While obesity varies by sex, race, and age, the study found that obesity impacts nearly 80% of adults over 70 years old.

“We already thought we had an obesity epidemic, but this is astounding,” said Dr. Lindsay Fourman, an endocrinologist at Mass General Brigham and one of the authors of the study. “With potenti

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