Evolution of the digital health spectrum of care

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Analysis of 3.4M Consumers Body Mass Index Shows that 38.2 Percent of Users classified as Obese or Overweight Are Classified as not Obese or not Preclinically Obese Under the Newly-proposed Definition

Boston, MA – March 4, 2025 – Withings, a pioneer in connected health, has performed an analysis indicating that 38.2 percent of consumers classified as overweight or obese under traditional Body Mass Index (BMI) definitions would no longer carry that diagnosis with newly proposed criteria. The study aimed to validate recently published criteria for obesity disease diagnosis in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. These insights are derived from an extensive analysis of data from 3.4 million anonymized Withings scale users aged between 20 and 79 years old. Withings has been offering scales with body composition assessment since 2009, amassing a substantial database of this biomarker across a vast population.

 

This groundbreaking analysis also revealed:

• More than a third (38.4%) of people classified as “overweight” under BMI guidelines have unhealthy fat and should receive further screenings for organ dysfunction and metabolic disease; 
• 2% of people with a “normal” BMI have high body fat percentages, exposing hidden metabolic risks;
• 6% of those classified as “obese” based on BMI exhibit low health risks when assessed through body composition analysis and would not be considered obese under the new guidelines.

"Relying solely on BMI oversimplifies health assessments, leading to misjudgments, treatment disparities, and weight-related stigma," stated Aline Criton, Chief Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Withings. "Our findings highlight the significant impact of adopting a more reliable definition of obesity. With this new definition, over a third of our users would be reclassified, profoundly influencing clinical and lifestyle decisions."

A More Precise Framework for Assessing Obesity

Current clinical guidelines primarily use BMI, which is a calculation of weight divided by height, to classify individuals as either underweight, normal, overweight or obese. However, this method overlooks critical factors/conditions such as fat distribution, muscle mass, and metabolic health.

 

While BMI has historically been the only inexpensive, non-invasive approach for identifying obesity in clinical settings, advances in technology and methodology have rendered clinical reliance on this outdated tool obsolete.

 

The framework proposed by the international commission in The Lancet introduces a much more scalable, timely and precise classification system that distinguishes between:

 

• Preclinical obesity: Excess body fat without organ dysfunction;
• Clinical obesity: Excess body fat leading to organ impairment or metabolic abnormalities.

 

By shifting the clinical focus to fat distribution and visceral fat, healthcare professionals can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce treatment disparities, and correct for sex- and ethnicity-based biases. Utilizing home-based connected devices, such as Withings' body composition scales, empowers both physicians and users to tailor treatments and health behaviors effectively. This approach aligns with the principles of 4P medicine—predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory—by enabling continuous monitoring and personalized health insights, thereby enhancing patient engagement and outcomes.

Moving Beyond BMI: A More Precise Measure for Targeted Treatment

Body Pro 2 from Withings Health Solutions is an advanced, cellular-connected scale already integrated into a variety of metabolic health programs, including weight management, diabetes prevention and care, hypertension management, kidney care, and cardiovascular disease treatment. 

 

Building on this experience, Withings Health Solutions, a division of Withings that partners with health professionals, anticipates that the newly proposed obesity criteria, combined with real-time body composition tracking technology, will enhance treatment methods, redefine reimbursement strategies, and improve patient outcomes across a broad spectrum of conditions, including:

• Weight Management – Enhancing the effectiveness of weight-loss programs and medications
• Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Hypertension
• Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Musculoskeletal Conditions (e.g., Osteoarthritis)
• Sleep Apnea

 

"We expect to see a large shift in the weight loss and healthcare industries,” said Antoine Robiliard, vice president of Withings Health Solutions. “Leveraging body composition will soon be the new standard in the healthcare industry, particularly in GLP-1 medication-based programs, to ensure safer weight loss. Withings remains committed to equipping both healthcare professionals and individuals with the technology they need to make more informed, data-driven health decisions.”

# # #

About Withings and Withings Health Solutions

Withings Health Solutions is a dedicated division of global connected health leader Withings, serving healthcare professionals across chronic disease prevention and management, remote patient monitoring, clinical research and more. Its mission is to bridge the gap between patients and their care teams by continuously and effortlessly providing healthcare professionals with medical-grade data generated by patients from an ecosystem of connected devices. 

 

Withings created the first smart scale in 2009 and has been the pioneer in connected health ever since. Its clinically validated and multi-award-winning range is used by millions worldwide and include smart scales, hybrid watches, blood pressure monitors, sleep analyzers, and more. For more than 15 years, Withings has built expertise in user experience, engagement, and retention. Withings Health Solutions extends this expertise to the healthcare industry to remove friction in the patient's journey and allow digital health to expand. For more information, visit www.withingshealthsolutions.com

[post_title] => New Research Using Home Health Devices Underscores the Need to Reexamine the Relationship between Weight and Health [post_excerpt] => BMI has been the gold standard for assessing weight and health—but new research shows it’s deeply flawed. Withings analyzed data from 3.4 million users and found some interesting insights that will change obesity care for good. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => new-research-home-health-devices-reexamine-relationship-between-weight-health [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-03-04 19:34:34 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-03-04 19:34:34 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://withingshealthsolutions.com/?p=1834 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1776 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2025-02-03 13:21:56 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-02-03 13:21:56 [post_content] =>

A study published in November of 2024 in the Journal of the American Heart Association confirmed common feedback we hear from care teams: home blood pressure measurements are often not performed according to guidelines. 

 

Only about a third of study participants reported receiving education on home blood pressure monitoring, and many described the education they received as “vague.” As a result, those patients who received any education did not perform higher quality blood pressure measurements at home.  

 

Remote blood pressure monitoring has strong support from the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association (1), yet logistical concerns are preventing more widespread adoption by clinical teams. As blood pressure is a highly sensitive measurement, many healthcare providers worry about measurement quality and accuracy. And they want to avoid staffing challenges, such as time spent reaching out to patients with high readings that turn out to be incorrect measurements. 

BPM Pro 2 was designed to address this common clinician feedback. With simple illustrations and clear step-by-step text, BPM Pro 2 guides the user through proper technique while they’re taking a measurement, which creates more meaningful engagement. And through cellular data transmission, care teams can perform easy, rapid interventions when patients are not taking enough readings or when the readings are out of range.

 

Home blood pressure readings can offer vital data and insight into a patient’s progression. But patients must receive the right guidance to ensure accuracy and optimize care.

(1) https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000803

[post_title] => Point of Care Blood Pressure Education is the Key to Accuracy [post_excerpt] => A study published in November of 2024 in the Journal of the American Heart Association confirmed common feedback we hear from care teams: home blood pressure measurements are often not performed according to guidelines. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => point-of-care-blood-pressure-education-is-the-key-to-accuracy [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-02-03 13:30:59 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-02-03 13:30:59 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://withingshealthsolutions.com/?p=1776 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1724 [post_author] => 11 [post_date] => 2024-12-09 16:37:06 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-12-09 16:37:06 [post_content] =>

This article is based on our November 1, 2024 interview with Pr. Solomon Tesfaye.

 

When Solomon Tesfaye was a 16-year-old boy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a military regime closed his school and forced the students into national service. Tesfaye, who had by then developed a true passion for learning, desperately hoped to continue his intellectual development and academic journey.

 

On the urging of his brother, he took a chance and applied for an international scholarship to the prestigious Sevenoaks School in Kent, England. Sevenoaks, a storied boarding school founded in 1432, may have seemed like an unlikely next home for Tesfaye. But they also decided to take a chance on him. Those bets ultimately paid off.

 

Pr. Tesfaye is now a globally recognized diabetes expert at the University of Sheffield whose research has played a significant role in understanding diabetic nerve damage, how to identify it earlier, and how to potentially treat it before the complications become debilitating. In September, Pr. Tesfaye was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th NeuroDiab annual meeting in recognition of his pioneering research in the field. Tesfaye credits his experience at Sevenoaks School as having kindled his interest in science and his enduring passion for grappling with difficult problems, like diabetic peripheral neuropathies (DPN).

 

Fast forward to today and Pr. Tesfaye is leading some of the most exciting work on early diagnosis of DPN and clinical strategies for altering its relentless progression. His team at University of Sheffield recently presented findings at The American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions that found the use of point-of-care testing devices by clinicians (Withings’ Sudoscan in combination with DPNCheck) could significantly improve the detection of DPN over current standard of care methods and provide a rapid, reproducible, and quantitative assessment for busy clinicians.

 

“For diabetic retinopathy, we’ve been successful using technology to improve diagnosis and care,” said Tesfaye. “But for neuropathy, we're using these Stone Age implements. With a monofilament, even the best doctors cannot diagnose neuropathy the same two days in a row. Meanwhile, fifty percent (of patients) die within 5 years, it costs more than breast or colon cancer, and is devastating because it's so painful patients can't sleep. Sadly, advanced neuropathy is the strongest risk factor for diabetic foot ulceration that results in fifty percent mortality within 5 years, and costs more than breast, colon and prostate cancers, combined. Neuropathy also is devastating as it can also cause distressing foot and leg pain that interferes with sleep.”

 

Tesfaye is now immersed in a major new study with 160 participants – called OCEANIC – that seeks to determine whether early diagnosis, coupled with robust, early intervention can alter the course of DPN for the better. OCEANIC is using Withings Body Pro 2 smart scales with Electrochemical Skin Conductance (ESC) technology, wearable sensors, and activity trackers, to monitor and share patient progress on metrics including body fat, muscle mass, and ESC score, with the aim of reinforcing lifestyle changes. The study group will receive personalized diabetes education and exercise programs, and weight loss interventions including GLP-1s, to significantly reduce HbA1C. 

 

“Our goal is to explore whether these intensive strategies to manage risk factors can halt or even reverse diabetes-related nerve damage when it is identified at an early stage,” said Pr. Tesfaye. “We want to do for neuropathy what early and routine screening has done for retinopathy – bringing better outcomes to millions of people with diabetes.”

 

If Solomon Tesfaye’s history is any guide, achieving clear answers to the big questions in the OCEANIC study will be but a waypoint on his journey. He credits a mentor, the late Professor John Ward, with encouraging him to tackle the most meaningful problems. “He told me not to worry about publishing too many studies, but rather focus on a few big questions that will fundamentally change people’s lives.”

Interested in partnering with us?

Contact Us [post_title] => Turning Challenges into Opportunities: Pr. Solomon Tesfaye and His Quest to Eradicate Preventable Amputations [post_excerpt] => Pr. Solomon Tesfaye is one of the world’s leading researchers in the field of diabetic peripheral neuropathies (DPN). His life has been a story of overcoming challenges with a mission to tackle one of the biggest problems facing people with diabetes - preventable amputations. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => turning-challenges-into-opportunities-dr-solomon-tesfaye-and-his-quest-to-eradicate-preventable-amputations [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-02-05 18:58:07 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-02-05 18:58:07 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://withingshealthsolutions.com/?p=1724 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) ) [post_count] => 3 [current_post] => -1 [before_loop] => 1 [in_the_loop] => [post] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 1834 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2025-03-04 10:20:40 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-03-04 10:20:40 [post_content] =>

Analysis of 3.4M Consumers Body Mass Index Shows that 38.2 Percent of Users classified as Obese or Overweight Are Classified as not Obese or not Preclinically Obese Under the Newly-proposed Definition

Boston, MA – March 4, 2025 – Withings, a pioneer in connected health, has performed an analysis indicating that 38.2 percent of consumers classified as overweight or obese under traditional Body Mass Index (BMI) definitions would no longer carry that diagnosis with newly proposed criteria. The study aimed to validate recently published criteria for obesity disease diagnosis in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. These insights are derived from an extensive analysis of data from 3.4 million anonymized Withings scale users aged between 20 and 79 years old. Withings has been offering scales with body composition assessment since 2009, amassing a substantial database of this biomarker across a vast population.

 

This groundbreaking analysis also revealed:

• More than a third (38.4%) of people classified as “overweight” under BMI guidelines have unhealthy fat and should receive further screenings for organ dysfunction and metabolic disease; 
• 2% of people with a “normal” BMI have high body fat percentages, exposing hidden metabolic risks;
• 6% of those classified as “obese” based on BMI exhibit low health risks when assessed through body composition analysis and would not be considered obese under the new guidelines.

"Relying solely on BMI oversimplifies health assessments, leading to misjudgments, treatment disparities, and weight-related stigma," stated Aline Criton, Chief Clinical and Regulatory Affairs Officer at Withings. "Our findings highlight the significant impact of adopting a more reliable definition of obesity. With this new definition, over a third of our users would be reclassified, profoundly influencing clinical and lifestyle decisions."

A More Precise Framework for Assessing Obesity

Current clinical guidelines primarily use BMI, which is a calculation of weight divided by height, to classify individuals as either underweight, normal, overweight or obese. However, this method overlooks critical factors/conditions such as fat distribution, muscle mass, and metabolic health.

 

While BMI has historically been the only inexpensive, non-invasive approach for identifying obesity in clinical settings, advances in technology and methodology have rendered clinical reliance on this outdated tool obsolete.

 

The framework proposed by the international commission in The Lancet introduces a much more scalable, timely and precise classification system that distinguishes between:

 

• Preclinical obesity: Excess body fat without organ dysfunction;
• Clinical obesity: Excess body fat leading to organ impairment or metabolic abnormalities.

 

By shifting the clinical focus to fat distribution and visceral fat, healthcare professionals can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce treatment disparities, and correct for sex- and ethnicity-based biases. Utilizing home-based connected devices, such as Withings' body composition scales, empowers both physicians and users to tailor treatments and health behaviors effectively. This approach aligns with the principles of 4P medicine—predictive, preventive, personalized, and participatory—by enabling continuous monitoring and personalized health insights, thereby enhancing patient engagement and outcomes.

Moving Beyond BMI: A More Precise Measure for Targeted Treatment

Body Pro 2 from Withings Health Solutions is an advanced, cellular-connected scale already integrated into a variety of metabolic health programs, including weight management, diabetes prevention and care, hypertension management, kidney care, and cardiovascular disease treatment. 

 

Building on this experience, Withings Health Solutions, a division of Withings that partners with health professionals, anticipates that the newly proposed obesity criteria, combined with real-time body composition tracking technology, will enhance treatment methods, redefine reimbursement strategies, and improve patient outcomes across a broad spectrum of conditions, including:

• Weight Management – Enhancing the effectiveness of weight-loss programs and medications
• Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and Hypertension
• Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
• Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
• Musculoskeletal Conditions (e.g., Osteoarthritis)
• Sleep Apnea

 

"We expect to see a large shift in the weight loss and healthcare industries,” said Antoine Robiliard, vice president of Withings Health Solutions. “Leveraging body composition will soon be the new standard in the healthcare industry, particularly in GLP-1 medication-based programs, to ensure safer weight loss. Withings remains committed to equipping both healthcare professionals and individuals with the technology they need to make more informed, data-driven health decisions.”

# # #

About Withings and Withings Health Solutions

Withings Health Solutions is a dedicated division of global connected health leader Withings, serving healthcare professionals across chronic disease prevention and management, remote patient monitoring, clinical research and more. Its mission is to bridge the gap between patients and their care teams by continuously and effortlessly providing healthcare professionals with medical-grade data generated by patients from an ecosystem of connected devices. 

 

Withings created the first smart scale in 2009 and has been the pioneer in connected health ever since. Its clinically validated and multi-award-winning range is used by millions worldwide and include smart scales, hybrid watches, blood pressure monitors, sleep analyzers, and more. For more than 15 years, Withings has built expertise in user experience, engagement, and retention. Withings Health Solutions extends this expertise to the healthcare industry to remove friction in the patient's journey and allow digital health to expand. For more information, visit www.withingshealthsolutions.com

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