Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice >

2026 , Vol. 25 >Issue 04: 483 - 491

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16150/j.1671-2870.2026.04.012

Review articles

Research progress and clinical significance of obesity classification and staging

  • LIAO Shiyu ,
  • TANG Shanshan ,
  • LIU Chenran ,
  • JIANG Linlin ,
  • LIAN Fengmei ,
  • JI Hangyu
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  • 1 GCP Center, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053, China
    2 Department of Endocrinology, Suzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Suzhou 215000, China

Received date: 2025-12-18

  Revised date: 2026-04-02

  Accepted date: 2026-04-08

  Online published: 2026-08-31

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Abstract

In recent years, the global population with obesity has increased sharply, becoming a major public health challenge. By 2030, approximately 50% of adults worldwide will be overweight or obesity. According to international criteria, a body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m² is defined as overweight, and a BMI ≥30 kg/m² is defined as obesity. In 2025, 41% of adults in China were overweight and 9% had obesity. By 2030, the number of adults with overweight or obesity will reach 515 million. When China's diagnostic criteria (BMI ≥24 kg/m² for overweight and BMI ≥28 kg/m² for obesity) are applied, the situation will be even more severe. To address the complexity and heterogeneity of obesity, identify high-risk populations more accurately, and guide personalized treatment, classification and staging systems for obesity have continuously evolved. This paper systematically reviews the primary classifications of obesity based on pathogenesis, body shape characteristics, and metabolic status, along with five staging systems, analyzing their respective strengths and limitations in diagnosis, risk prediction, and treatment guidance. Although existing obesity classification and staging systems have evolved from reliance on BMI alone towards multidimensional integration, they still face issues such as inconsistent diagnostic criteria, insufficient risk warning, unclear treatment mapping, and limited clinical applicability. Future efforts should focus on establishing more precise, feasible, and cost-effective classification and staging systems to enable early intervention and personalized health management for obesity.

Key words： Obesity; Classification and staging; Health management

Cite this article

LIAO Shiyu , TANG Shanshan , LIU Chenran , JIANG Linlin , LIAN Fengmei , JI Hangyu . Research progress and clinical significance of obesity classification and staging[J]. Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice, 2026 , 25(04) : 483 -491 . DOI: 10.16150/j.1671-2870.2026.04.012

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