Am I obese or overweight?
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
This may be a strange question but do many of us really know the answer? What is classed as obesity, or am I just overweight, and is there a difference?
By Justine Clarabut
The term ‘obese’ describes someone that is carrying excess body fat. Obesity is usually measured using a BMI (body mass index) calculation. The guide below shows the range of BMI scores which indicate whether you are a healthy weight, overweight or obese. BMI is a universally recognised method of working out if someone is a healthy weight for their height. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in metres. Weight (kg) ÷ Height (m) x Height (m) = BMI (For example: 75kg ÷ 1.8m x 1.8m = 23.1)
Muscle Mass versus BMI
It is worth noting that BMI is merely an indication to see if someone is a healthy weight, it is not used to diagnose obesity! The reason being that some people are considered to be overweight according to their BMI despite having low body fat as they exhibit h...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
