When Did I Become Obese?

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from WebMD

 By Amanda MacMillan

Obesity means having far too much body fat. It's about much more than your clothing size or how you look. It can seriously affect your health.

Your whole body feels it, from your joints to your heart, blood pressure, blood sugar, and other systems. The extra fat cells produce inflammation and various hormones, which boosts your odds of chronic medical conditions.

If it seems like those odds are stacked against you, remember that it's possible to beat them. The first step is to know where you stand.

Are You Obese?

You step on the scale and your doctor or nurse notes your weight. They might also measure your waist, since it's especially risky to have too much belly fat.

If your doctor says you're overweight, that means "you're slightly over what's considered healthy," says Y. Claire Wang, MD. She's co-director of the Obesity Prevention Initiative at Columbia University.

Obesity is beyond being simply overweight. It's very common -- more than 1 in 3 U.S. adults are obese. If you're one of them, you can work to lose weight. Although it's not easy, dropping some of those extra pounds -- maybe losing fewer pounds than you think could starts to turn things around for you.

What Your BMI Says

For adults, experts usually define obesity based on body mass index, or BMI. This formula relates your weight to your height.

For instance, if two people weigh the same amount but one is taller than the other, the taller person will have a lower BMI. To find your body mass index, plug your height and weight into a BMI calculator.

If your BMI is:

  • Below 18.5: underweight
  • 18.5-24.9: normal
  • 25-29.9: overweight
  • 30 or higher: obese

If you're obese, your doctor might talk about the categories of obesity:

  • Obesity level l: BMI of 30-34.9
  • Obesity level ll: BMI of 35-39.9
  • Obesity level lll: BMI of 40 or higher, which some also call "morbid" obesity
If your in any of the overweight categories you should talk to a doctor. Some people of normal weight might still be carrying too much fat even if your not overweight. Other people might weight more than the average person their size but actually has a low percentage of fat.

The BMI formula isn't perfect, it will make mistakes. I like the tape measure approach to measuring body fat. It's very simple and is right a high percentage of the time. Measure your height in inches, for example 70 inches tall. Your waistline measured at your naval should be half your height or less. In this case your waist should measure 35 inches or less. In this example I believe if your waistline is half your height you should be in the normal zone of BMI.

Follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. 

You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 
Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.



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