The medical definition of obesity is someone who has excessive fat stores throughout the body, increasing their risk for medical complications (such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure). Body mass index (BMI) is one way that physicians determine a diagnosis of obesity. A person with a BMI of 25 to 30 is considered overweight, while a BMI over 30 is considered obese.
Types of Obesity
It may seem that the risk for complications is the same for anyone who is obese, regardless of how or where the excess weight is carried. This is not true: Women who carry their excess fat stores in the abdomen (android or truncal obesity) have a much higher risk of medical complications than people who carry their extra weight in their thighs and hips (gyneoid obesity).
To determine your body fat distribution, you can take some simple measurements to determine the waist-hip ratio (WHR).
Place a measuring tape around the narrowest part of your waist, then around the widest part of your hips, and take each measurement in inches. Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. If the ratio is over 0.85 (in women), this indicates that you have extra fat stores located in your abdomen. If the ratio is below 0.75, your extra weight is located in the thighs and hips.
Complications of Obesity
A multitude of complications are associated with obesity. The following list is only a representation of the most common and is not inclusive of all obesity-related complications.
- Cardiac issues – heart attack, stroke, hypertension, coronary artery disease, blood clots
- Hormonal diseases – diabetes, insulin resistance, gout, high cholesterol
- sleep apnea
- gallstones or other gall bladder diseases
- arthritis and chronic back/joint pain
- pregnancy related complications – gestational diabetes, toxemia, prolonged labor or caesarean section, infertility
Source:
Thatcher, Samuel. PCOS: The Hidden Epidemic. Perspectives Press; Indianopolis. 2000.
