UCC researcher calls for obesity to be renamed to improve treatment 

'Focus should be on the underlying pathophysiology of obesity and not on body size'

Professor Francis Finucane described new Irish Medical Council guidance warning doctors against using Ozempic for obesity as morally problematic. Picture: Getty Images 

The term ' obesity' has become "synonymous" with body size, with calls being made for the disease to be renamed in order to help the public better understand it.

A study from researchers at University College Cork (UCC) and University of Galway, published in Obesity Reviews, highlights the ongoing confusion about the term ‘obesity’, which currently can refer to the disease of obesity or to a BMI range, or a combination of the two.