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Griffiths in Riyadh Next Week to Discuss Amendments to Joint Declaration

UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Sweden, on December 13, 2018. (Getty Images)
UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Sweden, on December 13, 2018. (Getty Images)
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Griffiths in Riyadh Next Week to Discuss Amendments to Joint Declaration

UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Sweden, on December 13, 2018. (Getty Images)
UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths in Sweden, on December 13, 2018. (Getty Images)

United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is expected to visit Riyadh next week to meet with the Yemeni government and discuss recent amendments on a Joint Declaration draft plan for a comprehensive solution between the legitimacy and Iran-backed Houthis militias, a diplomatic source said Thursday.

The envoy will work on discussing details of this draft plan with the government and to dissipate the legitimacy’s reservations, British Ambassador to Yemen Michael Aron told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that this plan would be the last as the two warring sides are close to reaching a final solution on Yemen.

Griffiths will add the government’s views to this last draft plan because parties are close to reaching a final solution, Aron said.

Griffiths is leading UN-brokered negotiations between the Yemeni government and Houthis, to reach a Joint Declaration that will include a nationwide ceasefire, economic and humanitarian measures, and the resumption of the political process to comprehensively resolve the conflict in the country.

In mid-July, the legitimate government rejected proposals submitted by the envoy, saying they undermine the government’s sovereignty and are biased towards the Houthis.

Meanwhile, the people are awaiting the formation of a new government that can rebuild state institutions and provide security and services. The cabinet is also expected to merge all armed formations in the Defense and Interior Ministries.

Late last month, the Southern Transitional Council abandoned its declaration of self-rule and pledged to implement the Riyadh Agreement signed with the legitimate government.

The deal calls for appointing a governor and security director for Aden Governorate, and assigning the Yemeni Prime Minister to form a government of political competencies within 30 days.

“The new government has a priority of rebuilding state institutions and controlling resources,” presidential advisor Abdul-Aziz al-Maflahi told Asharq Al-Awsat.

He said Yemenis now have a chance to present themselves in a different manner because their agreement is supported by the regional and international community.

Maflahi praised the important role played by Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman to accelerate the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement.

Advisor to the Yemeni President Dr. Mohammed al-Ameri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new government must first normalize the situation in the liberated areas and remove any tensions left recently by the conflict.

“Security is the basis for everything. Without it, the government is incapable of completing its mission and enforcing the rule of state institutions in the liberated areas,” he said.

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Obesity Won’t Be Solely Defined by BMI under New Plan for Diagnosis by Global Experts

A man uses measuring tape on his waist in California on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP)
A man uses measuring tape on his waist in California on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP)
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Obesity Won’t Be Solely Defined by BMI under New Plan for Diagnosis by Global Experts

A man uses measuring tape on his waist in California on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP)
A man uses measuring tape on his waist in California on Jan. 9, 2025. (AP)

A group of global experts is proposing a new way to define and diagnose obesity, reducing the emphasis on the controversial body mass index and hoping to better identify people who need treatment for the disease caused by excess body fat.

Under recommendations released Tuesday night, obesity would no longer be defined solely by BMI, a calculation of height and weight, but combined with other measurements, such as waist circumference, plus evidence of health problems tied to extra pounds.

Obesity is estimated to affect more than 1 billion people worldwide. In the US, about 40% of adults have obesity, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The whole goal of this is to get a more precise definition so that we are targeting the people who actually need the help most," said Dr. David Cummings, an obesity expert at the University of Washington and one of the 58 authors of the report published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.

The report introduces two new diagnostic categories: clinical obesity and pre-clinical obesity.

People with clinical obesity meet BMI and other markers of obesity and have evidence of organ, tissue or other problems caused by excess weight. That could include heart disease, high blood pressure, liver or kidney disease or chronic severe knee or hip pain. These people would be eligible for treatments, including diet and exercise interventions and obesity medications.

People with pre-clinical obesity are at risk for those conditions, but have no ongoing illness, the report says.

BMI has long been considered a flawed measure that can over-diagnose or underdiagnose obesity, which is currently defined as a BMI of 30 or more. But people with excess body fat do not always have a BMI above 30, the report notes. And people with high muscle mass — football players or other athletes — may have a high BMI despite normal fat mass.

Under the new criteria, about 20% of people who used to be classified as obese would no longer meet the definition, preliminary analysis suggests. And about 20% of people with serious health effects but lower BMI would now be considered clinically obese, experts said.

"It wouldn't dramatically change the percentage of people being defined as having obesity, but it would better diagnose the people who really have clinically significant excess fat," Cummings said.

The new definitions have been endorsed by more than 75 medical organizations around the world, but it's not clear how widely or quickly they could be adopted in practice. The report acknowledges that implementation of the recommendations "will carry significant costs and workforce implications."

A spokesman for the health insurance trade group AHIP, formerly known as America's Health Insurance Plans, said "it's too early at this point to gauge how plans will incorporate these criteria into coverage or other policies."

There are practical issues to consider, said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. Measuring waist circumference sounds simple, but protocols differ, many doctors aren't trained accurately and standard medical tape measures aren't big enough for many people with obesity.

In addition, determining the difference between clinical and pre-clinical obesity would require a comprehensive health assessment and lab tests, she noted.

"For a new classification system to be widely adopted, it would also need to be extremely quick, inexpensive, and reliable," she said.

The new definitions are likely to be confusing, said Kate Bauer, a nutrition expert at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

"The public likes and needs simple messages. I don't think this differentiation is going to change anything," she said.

Overhauling the definition of obesity will take time, acknowledged Dr. Robert Kushner, an obesity expert at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and a co-author of the report.

"This is the first step in the process," he said. "I think it's going to begin the conversation."