| Level I | Good quality evidence |
Systematic review of RCTs with consistent findings High quality individual RCT |
| Level II |
Limited quality patient orientated evidence |
Systematic review of lower quality studies or studies with inconsistent findings Low quality clinical trial Cohort studies Case-control studies |
| Level III | Other |
Consensus guidelines, extrapolations from bench research, usual practice, opinion, disease-oriented evidence (intermediate or physiologic outcomes only), or case series |
[1] BMI-based CVD risk assessment: D'Agostino RB Sr, Vasan RS, Pencina MJ, Wolf PA, Cobain M, Massaro JM, Kannel WB. General cardiovascular risk profile for use in primary care: the Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2008 Feb 12;117(6):743-53. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18212285