The president of the Australian Medical Association has dismissed a push for doctors to stop using the word "obese" as a "crazy" idea.
New guidelines from NSW Health instruct doctors to use positive language when discussing the weight of their patients.
The guidelines encourage doctors to stop using words like "skinny" and "morbidly obese".
NSW Health's Executive Director Centre for Population Health Jo Mitchell told News Corp that such terms can be stigmatising for overweight adults and children.
Instead terms such as "well above a healthy weight" should be spoken by doctors, according to the guidelines.
The term obese is based on Body Mass Index - a physical measurement used to assess a person's total amount of body fat. It is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms (kg) by the square of your height in metres (m2).
AMA President Dr Michael Gannon says obese is a useful medical term, although acknowledged it isn't perfect.
"It doesn't take into account the fact that people with significant muscle mass might be called obese and they're actually probably in a fairly healthy situation. But overall, it's a useful metric," Dr Gannon told Macquarie Radio Network on Tuesday.
"None of it's perfect, and the reality is it is a medical definition. Now, it's not the first time that NSW Health has come up with a crazy idea like this."
Dr Gannon, however, did say there is a need for doctors to be sensitive when dealing with patients battling weight issues.
"I think the use of the word 'fat' is a bit outdated. We don't want people to get upset in their interactions with doctors, but practising medicine's not a popularity contest," he said.
"You have to give uncomfortable news to patients, you have to come up with treatment or management plans they're not necessarily happy about, and this directive flies in the face of common sense."
