Being overweight and obese is when a person’s body weight is higher than what is typically healthy for their height. Overweight is generally due to extra body fat. However, being overweight could be attributed to having excess muscle, bone, or fluid in the body. Individuals who are obese typically have an excessive amount of fat in their bodies.

One way to determine if you have a healthy weight, are overweight, or have obesity is by determining your body mass index (BMI). The BMI is a figure calculated from an individual’s weight to their height ratio. The more your Body Mass Index rises, the higher the chances of developing health issues from overweight and obesity.

Achieving and sustaining a healthy weight could be a battle if you struggle with being overweight or have obesity. Keeping your weight in check, and not gaining any more if you already fall into the overweight category, can help lower your risk of developing certain health conditions.

Is obesity defined by your weight?

Medical professionals typically refer to the Body Mass Index (BMI) to establish obesity in the general public. The Body Mass Index gauges a person’s typical weight relative to their general height. In broad terms, healthcare providers typically view a Body Mass Index level of 30 or more as indicative of obesity. Despite the flaws of BMI, it’s still simple to measure and can be a warning sign for potential health issues linked to obesity.

Examples such as bodybuilders and athletes, who often have a greater amount of muscle mass and their body mass index may be higher even if their body fat percentage is low, demonstrate limitations. You can have obesity even when your weight is considered to be average. If your body mass index is typical but your proportion of body fat is too high, you could have the same health risks as someone with a higher body mass index.

Medical professionals have noticed that various ethnicities have various levels of additional weight they can have before it influences their health. For instance, individuals of Asian origin are likely to suffer from health complications when their BMI is lower, and African American individuals are more likely to have health problems when their BMI is higher.

An alternate method of determining obesity is by gauging waist size. If you carry extra weight around your midsection, you have a greater chance of developing obesity-related illnesses. If you were born female, any waist size larger than 35 inches could be risky, whereas for those born male, the risk becomes significant when their waist size is over 40 inches.

What are the three types of obesity?

Medical practitioners divide obesity into different categories based on its severity. They use BMI to do it. If your Body Mass Index is in between 25.0 and 29.9 kilograms per squared meter, you are considered to be overweight. Healthcare providers identify three distinct types of obesity in order to decide which treatments are likely to be the most effective for each individual. They include:

• Class I obesity: BMI 30 to <35 kg/m².
• Class II obesity: BMI 35 to <40 kg/m².
• Class III obesity: BMI 40+ kg/m².

How common is overweight and obesity?

According to a national U.S. survey1,2,3

• more than 1 in 3 adults were considered to be overweight
• more than 1 in 3 adults were considered to have obesity
• more than 2 in 3 adults were considered to be overweight or have obesity

For further details about the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States, refer to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases’ Overweight & Obesity Statistics.

Who is more likely to be overweight?

Men are more likely than women to be overweight.3

Who is more likely to have obesity?

A national survey in the United States has revealed that certain demographics are more prone to having obesity.2

• Among black adults, 48 out of 100 were considered to have obesity.
• Among Hispanic adults, 42 out of 100 were considered to have obesity.
• Among white adults, 36 out of 100 were considered to have obesity.

Women are more likely than men to have obesity.2

Several aspects influence the probability of an individual being obese, and they can have different impacts on different people.

Why do people gain weight?

There are numerous factors that can lead to an increase in weight and cause an individual’s body to retain the additional mass. When more energy is consumed from food and drinks than your body requires to do daily activities such as sitting and sleeping, your body saves the surplus as calories. If you eat more food than you burn off through activities, it is likely your bodyweight will increase in the long run. Excessive weight gain may lead to overweight or obesity.

Who should lose weight?

Doctors suggest that individuals who are overweight should shed some pounds.

People who are overweight and have one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease should work on shedding some pounds. These factors include

• diabetes
• prediabetes
• high blood pressure
• dyslipidemia—high levels of LDL cholesterol, low levels of HDL cholesterol, or high levels of triglycerides NIH external link
• a large waist size—for men, greater than 40 inches; for women, greater than 35 inches

Factors Affecting Weight & Health

What factors affect weight and health?

There are numerous aspects that may influence your weight and can result in being overweight or obese. Certain aspects may impede your progress in losing weight or keeping lost weight off.

Family history and genes

There is a tendency for obesity and being overweight to be passed down through families, which implies that genetics may have a bearing. If either one or both of your parents are overweight or are suffering from obesity, then it puts you at a higher risk of carrying excess weight. It is possible that your genes could have an impact on how much fat your body stores, as well as where that excess fat is stored.

Race or ethnicity

Certain racial and ethnic minority groups are more inclined to be obese. African Americans have the most significant number of obese adults in America, and Latinos/Hispanics appear to be the next most in danger, with Caucasians trailing behind. It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, both have a chance of being at risk for diseases associated with obesity even if their body mass index (BMI) is lower if they have excess quantities of unhealthy fat in their abdomen.4 Asian American men and women have the lowest rates of obesity.4

Age

Many people gain weight as they age. The weight of individuals with a standard BODY MASS INDEX increases from young adulthood to around the age of 60 to 65 years. Furthermore, kids with obesity have an increased likelihood of carrying it into adulthood.

Sex

In the United States, black and Hispanic women are more likely to be obese than black and Hispanic men. Additionally, a person’s gender may influence the placement of fat in the body. Women are more likely to have an accumulation of adipose tissue in their hips and butt. Typically, males tend to accumulate fat in their stomach area. Having a large amount of abdominal fat, regardless of a normal weight, can lead to health complications.

Eating and physical activity habits

You may be at a higher risk of gaining weight and developing obesity if you follow certain eating and physical activity behaviors.

• eat and drink a lot of foods and beverages that are high in calories, sugar, and fat
• drink a lot of beverages that are high in added sugars
• spend a lot of time sitting or lying down and have limited physical activity

Where you live, work, play, and worship

The environment where you occupy your time, such as living, working, playing and worshipping, can influence your nutrition and physical activity level, and availability to nutritious food and areas where you can exercise.

Living in an area that has a lot of supermarkets can give you the opportunity to have access to more nutritious, lower calorie foods. Residing in a neighborhood that has numerous parks and places suitable for physical exercise might motivate you to practice more physical activity.

The environment of where you are employed and worship may facilitate overindulging in unhealthy, high-calorie food. Vending machines, cafeterias, or events that take place at your job or place of worship might not provide nourishing food choices that are low in calories. Whenever you can, pick the more beneficial alternatives and restrain your goodies to a tiny piece of pie or cake.

Family habits and culture

The way your family eats and lives their lifestyle can have an impact on your weight and overall health. Certain households may eat dishes and beverages that are full of fat, salt, and added sugars, or devour a lot of unhealthy meals at family get-togethers. Instead of engaging in physical activities, certain families may utilize a significant amount of their time observing television, operating a computer, or utilizing a cellular device.

Your weight and health could also be impacted by the traditions of the social, ethnic, or religious group you belong to, as members may share certain dietary and lifestyle routines. Certain societies may partake of dishes and refreshments that contain a lot of fat, salt, and added sweeteners. Preparing meals by frying can result in taking in a lot of calories. Eating foods that are high in calories, fat and sugar on a regular basis can cause weight gain in the long run.

Not enough sleep

Individuals who are not sufficiently rested may take in more calories and snack more frequently. Researchers recommend that grown-ups among 18 and 64 years of age get a good 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily, while those 65 and older should ideally sleep 7 to 8 hours.

Other factors

Other factors that can lead to weight gain include

• certain medical conditions
• certain medicines
• binge eating disorder
• stress NIH external link

What causes obesity?

At its core, obesity can be attributed to the fact that people are consuming more calories than their body is able to burn off. Many factors contribute to this. Some factors are individual to you. Some restrictions are embedded in the framework of our society, be it on a national, local, or family level. Combating obesity necessitates purposefully counteracting these different components.

Factors that may increase calorie consumption include:

• Fast and convenience foods . In communities and families where highly-processed fast and convenience foods are dietary staples, it’s easy to consume a lot of calories. These foods are high in sugar and fat and low in fiber and other nutrients, which can leave you hungrier. Their ingredients promote addictive eating patterns. In some communities, these may be the only types of foods readily available, due to both cost and access. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that 40% of households in America live more than a mile from healthy food retailers.
• Sugar is in everything . The food industry is not designed to maintain our health. It’s designed to sell products that we will become addicted to and want to buy more of. High on that list of products are sweets and sugary drinks, which have no nutritional value and a lot of added calories. But even standard foods have high levels of added sugar to make them more appealing and addictive. It’s so common that it’s changed our taste expectations.
• Marketing and advertising . Pervasive advertising pushes processed foods, sweets and sugary drinks, the products that we need the least but that the industry needs us to buy the most. Advertising makes these products seem like a normal and necessary part of everyday life. Advertising also plays a large role in selling alcohol, which adds a lot of empty calories.
• Psychological factors . Boredom, loneliness, anxiety and depression are all common in modern society, and can all lead to overeating. They may especially lead to eating certain types of foods that activate pleasure centers in our brains, foods that tend to be higher in calories. Eating to feel better is a primal human instinct. We evolved to find food, and evolution hasn’t caught up to the kind of abundance of food that Western societies now enjoy.
• Hormones . Hormones regulate our hunger and satiety signals. Many things can disrupt these regulatory processes, including common things like stress and lack of sleep and less common things like genetic variations. Hormones can cause you to continue to crave more food even when you don’t need any more calories. They can make it hard to tell when you’ve had enough.
• Certain medications . Medications that you take to treat other conditions may contribute to weight gain. Antidepressants, steroids, anti-seizure medications, diabetes medications and beta-blockers are among them.

How is obesity diagnosed?

At your appointment, your medical practitioner will take recordings of your height, weight, and waist girth.

When you visit a medical care professional, they require you to provide them with information about your entire health history. They will enquire about your past illnesses, the drugs you have taken, and your alterations in body mass. The doctor will also inquire about your current eating habits, sleeping schedule, exercise routines, sources of stress, and any weight loss efforts you may have made in the past. They may ask about your biological family’s health history.

They will assess your key physiological indicators by measuring your pulse and arterial pressure while tuning in to your heart and breathing. They could perform a blood test to see if your sugar and cholesterol concentration in the blood are in balance, as well as examine your hormones. They will employ your entire profile to identify your overweight status and any accompanying circumstances you may suffer from.