What is Obesity or Overweight?

For adults, a “body mass index” (BMI) of 30 and over in general is considered to be obese although BMI may not be an ideal tool to determine the risk. It is far more important to understand the distribution of the weight, body fat composition etc. to understand the risks associated with Obesity.

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What is Obesity – Understanding the risks

You could be in normal BMI range and but can still have metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes or even type 2 diabetes , and other diseases associated with weight such as cholesterol abnormalities. This is especially true if you have weight in the wrong areas such as the belly and upper part of the body.

BMI for Obesity

BMI is used because of the simplicity and for most people, it tends to correlate with their amount of body fat.

•An adult who has a BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight.
•An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
See the following table for an example.

Body body percentage is more important!

It is important to remember that although BMI correlates with the amount of body fat, BMI does not directly measure body fat. As a result, some people, such as athletes, may have a BMI that identifies them as overweight even though they do not have excess body fat.

Waist to hip ratio

Other methods of estimating body fat and body fat distribution include measurements of body composition analysis, skin fold thickness and waist circumference, calculation of waist-to-hip circumference ratios, and techniques such as ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

The ideal waist to hip ratio for women should be 0.8 or lower and for men should be 1 or lower. That means, you should not have a big tummy or upper body weight for reducing the metabolic risks associated with weight.

Free online tools for Obesity

• How do I know my risk related to weight?
• Are there any free online tools I can use?
• Use this free online insulin resistance calculator available on W8MD website to determine your risk!
• •The individual’s waist circumference (because abdominal fat is a predictor of risk for obesity-related diseases).
• •Other risk factors the individual has for diseases and conditions associated with obesity such as high blood pressure, prediabetes or diabetes, cholesterol abnormalities, especially elevated triglycerides.

How can W8MD Help?

W8MD is a physician supervised medical weight loss program that is tailored to your needs. Using evidence based methods, W8MD physicians can help you lose weight safely and effectively under careful physician supervision. And the best part of the program is that most W8MD programs accept health insurance for the physician visits!

Our physicians have received a thorough education in the field of bariatric medicine dealing with non- surgical medical weight loss. We also provide extensive counselling on wellness for individuals, families, and small businesses to help keep you healthy.

We can prescribe appropriate FDA approved weight loss medications or diet pills whenever clinically appropriate as determined by the weight loss physician after a physical examination and or any tests such as EKG, or simple blood work. Our W8MD (weightMD) weight loss office in Brooklyn is accessible to all 5 boroughs of New York City. Due to popular demand, we only acccept about 10 new patients a week at this time. Call 718-946-5500 for more information or to make an appointment. You can also book appointments online.

Some obesity related questions

• How is obesity defined?

Obesity is defined based on Body Mass Index or BMI

• What is the weight to be considered obese?
• How is obesity bad for your health?
• What is the main cause of obesity?
• Who is at risk for obesity?
• What foods cause weight gain?
• What are the 3 foods that make you fat?
• What are the five foods that cause belly fat?
• Will fruit make you fat?
• Are bananas good for weight loss?
• Do bananas make you lose weight?
• How can I get fat quickly?
• What should we eat to become fat?
• What can I eat to get fat fast?
• What causes weight gain?
• Why am I suddenly gaining weight?
• What foods prevent obesity?
• What causes rapid weight gain in females?
• Can stress make you fat?
• Why do I gain weight so easily?
• How can I stop gaining weight?
• How can I eat a lot and not gain weight?
• How do I fix being overweight?
• How do I stop gaining weight in college?
• Why do you gain weight in college?
• How can college students lose weight fast?
• How can I lose weight in college without working out?
• How can I lose the most weight in a day?
• Why do I lose more weight when not exercising?
• How can I reduce my belly fat while studying?
• What foods help burn belly fat?
• What is the fastest way for a kid to lose weight?
• Does studying lose weight?
• How many pounds can I lose in 3 days?
• Does thinking really hard burn calories?
• How can I reduce fat quickly?
• What food burns the most fat?
• How can I lose fat in 2 weeks?
• How can I burn fat naturally?
• How can I lose my belly fat in 3 days?

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