• Maite Aguas-Ayesa, Patricia Yárnoz-Esquiroz, Carolina M Perdomo, Laura Olazarán, Isabel M Vegas-Aguilar, José Manuel García-Almeida, Javier Gómez-Ambrosi, and Gema Frühbeck.
• Department of Endocrinology & Nutrition, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
• Eur. J. Clin. Invest. 2024 Jul 1; 54 (7): e14218e14218.

AbstractAdolphe Quételet, a 19th-century Belgian sociologist and statistician, pioneered the incorporation of statistics into social sciences. He initiated the development of anthropometry since he was interested in identifying the proportions of the 'ideal man'. He devised a ratio between weight and height, originally termed the Quételet Index, and today widely known and used as the body mass index or BMI. In 1835, he demonstrated that a normal curve accommodates the distribution of human traits articulating his reasoning on human variance around the average. Quételet's long-lasting legacy of the establishment of a simple measure to classify people's weight relative to an ideal for their height endures today with minor variations having dramatically influenced public health agendas. While being very useful, the limitations of the BMI are well known. Thus, revisiting the beyond BMI paradigm is a necessity in the era of precision medicine with morphofunctional assessment representing the way forward via incorporation of body composition and functionality appraisal. While healthcare systems were originally designed to address acute illnesses, today's demands require a radical rethinking together with an original reappraisal of our diagnosis and treatment approaches from a multidimensional perspective. Embracing new methodologies is the way forward to advance the field, gain a closer look at the underlying pathophysiology of excess weight, keep the spotlight on improving diagnostic performance and demonstrate its clinical validity. In order to provide every patient with the most accurate diagnosis together with the most appropriate management, a high degree of standardization and personalization is needed.© 2024 The Authors. European Journal of Clinical Investigation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting European Society for Clinical Investigation Journal Foundation.

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