Commentary: “Evaluating integrated health care: a system of measurement”

An increase in body fat is generally associated with an increase in risk of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and dyslipidaemia (1). Body mass index (BMI) criteria are currently the primary focus in obesity treatment recommendations, with different treatment cutoff points based upon the presence or absence of obesity-related comorbid disease (Table 1). In addition, many patients with these metabolic diseases are either overweight or obese. While these simple clinical concepts may be well-accepted among many clinicians and researchers, and assumed to be readily accessible in the medical literature, the authors are unaware of any previous reports in which data regarding the important relationship between BMI and metabolic disease are summarised in a comprehensive manner. Defining the relationship between body weight and metabolic disease is critical toward a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological processes leading to excessive fat-related metabolic disease. Health information regarding such relationships is often obtained through the use of surveys. Population surveys are a well-recognised, and much utilised method to assess the prevalence of diseases as well as obtain other health-related information (2–4). One of the more recognised survey measures are the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) (4,5), which have incorporated subjective survey data obtained from interviews, along with additional data derived from objective clinical assessment and laboratory data. Patient-reported surveys OnlineOpen: This article is available free online at www.blackwell-synergy.com