How To Detect If You Are Obese - Learning Your BMI Index

Many Americans are overweight. However, how do we know when a person is already obese and not just overweight? What is the measure or standard for obesity? When is a person obese? Is there a way to reverse obesity or prevent obesity?

Origin

What is obesity? It is defined as a body that has too much fat. The word obese comes from the Latin word obesus (ob meaning intense and edere meaning to eat). So literally speaking, obesity can mean to eat intensively, so much as to cause the body to become too fat.

Causes

The most common causes of obesity are as follows:

• Inactive lifestyle - modern conveniences have led many people to lead sedentary lives; work in offices have also contributed to the sedentary lifestyle

• Improper Diet - in these days where fast food is much more convenient, this has led to people consuming food on the go, sometimes skipping breakfast and instead loading up on high fat foods to obtain energy required; late night eating and drinking as well as upsizing of food portions have contributed to the problem as well.

• Pregnancy - mothers need to gain weight as they are eating for two. However, some women find it hard to lose the weight after giving birth thus becoming a cause for obesity when they cannot lose the extra weight.

• Inadequate sleep - Lack of sleep can cause hormonal imbalances which cause increase in appetite as well as craving for high calorie food thus contributing to gains in weight.

• Some medications - medications like anti-depressants, diabetes drugs, steroids and such could lead to weight gain if not coupled with exercise or proper diets.

• Other medical issues - certain medical conditions could be the cause of weight gain and not just the overconsumption of food.

Signs and Symptoms

Doctors use a standard to measure obesity and this is the Body Mass Index or BMI. When BMI goes over a certain range, then that person is already considered obese.

BMI is calculated using the following formula:

BMI = divide weight in kilograms by height in meters squared

The resulting value is then compared to the chart below to determine whether a person is healthy or already overweight.

Values for BMI ranges:

Below 18.5 Underweight

18.5 - 24.9 Normal

25.0 - 29.9 Overweight

30.0 and higher Obese

40.0 and higher Extreme obesity

However, BMI does not measure actual body fat. This is just an indication and there may be times when some people may be termed obese when in fact they are not. A more accurate measurement is said to be the body fat formula calculator which involves measuring the waist and hips as well as forearms and wrist with a set of multipliers to estimate body fat.

Different formulas are used for men and women as the sexes differ in percentage and distribution of body fat. Tests are also done to determine when a person has too much fat or not.

Are you obese? Learn your BMI and start living your life the way you want it. Kristine is a professional writer focusing on health related niches.

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