Researchers at KU Leuven have developed a new tool to map obesity across physical, mental, and functional health, offering patients and healthcare providers a more personalised treatment approach.
Obesity is rarely an isolated condition, according to Bart Van der Schueren of UZ Leuven, who explains that it is a complex chronic disease often linked to other health risks. These can include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and psychological issues.
Existing medical tools struggle to capture the full picture, according to KU Leuven’s research team. The research sought to address this gap with a new system.
The tool evaluates obesity by considering mental health, quality of life, and how a patient functions in daily life, says Van der Schueren. It aims to pinpoint the best treatment for each individual.
This system expands upon the Edmonton Obesity Staging System (EOSS) from 2011, which categorises obesity in four stages. However, KU Leuven identified a key limitation: the EOSS is prone to subjective interpretation by healthcare providers or patients.
For example, a patient with severe psychological distress could receive a high EOSS score despite having low physical health risks, potentially leading to an unsuitable treatment plan.
To eliminate subjectivity, validated scores and patient-reported outcomes for each category are integrated into the new tool, including a cardiovascular risk measurement developed with the European Society of Cardiology based on large European datasets.
Sofia Pazmino, a KU Leuven researcher, highlights how dissatisfaction with one’s weight could result in a very high EOSS score, even with a relatively low BMI and minimal health risk.
In response, the team created the Belgian Obesity Staging System (BOSS), which provides a more objective evaluation across physical, mental, and functional domains. Instead of generating a single severity score, BOSS identifies which domain drives the disease most significantly for a given patient.
The development of BOSS involved collaboration between healthcare professionals and individuals living with obesity.
Experts from different fields—specialists, general practitioners, dieticians, psychologists, and patient representatives—worked to determine critical health factors to monitor. This collaboration ensures the tool reflects both clinical realities and patient experiences, notes Van der Schueren.
BOSS is specifically designed for primary care settings. It equips general practitioners and paramedics with a standardised, objective method to assess patient health, identify complications, and guide treatment decisions.
