Table 9.

Aims of obesity assessment

• To categorise cardiovascular risk profile (elements of the insulin resistance syndrome: fasting hyperinsulinaemia; hypertension; dyslipidaemia; obesity, particularly abdominal obesity; type 2 diabetes)

• To identify current or potential complications of obesity

• To exclude secondary causes of obesity: genetic causes (such as Prader-Willi syndrome, Bardet Biedl syndrome, and rare monogenic syndromes) and endocrine syndromes such as hypothyroidism and Cushing's syndrome