Prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults from the Middle East: A large‐scale population‐based study

This is the largest epidemiological study to provide direct prevalence data on OAO at this scale in the region and one of the largest globally. Using standard WHO cut points to define OAO may severely underestimate the prevalence of clinically actionable obesity in individuals of Southeast Asian ethnicity. This first application of new diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity suggests that some individuals may be disqualified from therapy who might otherwise benefit from a patient-centric approach.