BMI

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Using height and weight, overweight and obesity can be defined. The chart below is a BMI chart and you can see that a normal weight is 19-24 and shown in yellow, overweight is 25-29 and shown in orange, obese is 30-39 and extreme obesity is greater than 40 and shown in red. You can find your BMI by located your height in inches on the left and then scrolling to the right to find your weight. Once you find that point, you can see which color represents your BMI.

Using height and weight, overweight and obesity can be defined. The chart below is a BMI chart and you can see that a normal weight is 19-24 and shown in yellow, overweight is 25-29 and shown in orange, obese is 30-39 and extreme obesity is greater than 40 and shown in red. You can find your BMI by located your height in inches on the left and then scrolling to the right to find your weight. Once you find that point, you can see which color represents your BMI.

Social and Health Impact

• Obesity increases the risk of illness from about 30 serious medical conditions.
  
• Obesity is associated with increases in deaths from all-causes.
• Earlier onset of obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, now occur in children and adolescents with obesity.
• Individuals with obesity are at higher risk for impaired mobility.
• Overweight or obese individuals experience social stigmatization and discrimination in employment and academic situations.

Obesity in the United States

Since the mid-seventies, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased sharply for both adults and children. The increasing prevalence has finally leveled off in 2013 in all states but one, as stated in a recent report.
According to the World Health Organization, obesity has doubled worldwide since the 1980s. In the summer of 2013, Mexico overtook the United States as the most obese country in the world. In the 1970s, Mexicans died of infectious disease and malnutrition. Today, the greatest killers are type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Heart Disease and diabetes are two of the greatest killers in the United States as well. 

Diseases Associated with Obesity

Obesity increases the risk of many other diseases and health conditions, including the following:

• Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of  triglycerides)
• Hypertension
• Stroke
• Gallbladder disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
  

Fat Distribution

Obese male with substantial abdominal fat.

Visceral fat (abdominal) is also called central obesity. Referred to as the apple body type and represented in the image to the right. This type of fat is more mobile and may contribute to higher levels of LDL increasing heart disease risk.

Subcutaneous fat is right underneath the skin and is much less mobile. Although this fat covers every body part, it typically accumulates around the hips and the thighs. Those with excess subcutaneous fat in those areas are referred to as a pear shape. Why do we care?

It used to be that being overweight was a sign of wealth and upper class. So, are there other reasons besides status to be concerned about weight or size? Why are we so concerned with the American epidemic of obesity?

There are a considerable number of health problems directly related to obesity (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension to name a few). By decreasing obesity, we can decrease the development of some of these health problems.

It’s important to understand that weight, by itself, doesn’t mean much in terms of health. There are many factors which help determine if weight is a health risk.

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References

1. BMI Chart by InvictaHOG (Links to an external site.) on Wikipedia, CC0.
2. Obesity & BMI by BruceBlaus on Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0
   
3. Header image by Bigplankton on Wikipedia, CC0.