Obesity is a serious problem in the United States. While many people consider there excess weight an aesthetic concern the truth is that obesity increases your risk of developing life threatening diseases. An individual that is 40% overweight is twice as likely to experience a premature death when compared to a healthy individual. The more overweight an individual is the greater their risk for developing obesity related diseases becomes. Losing weight can prevent the onset of disease and in certain cases can help in the treatment of conditions that have already begun showing symptoms.

There are many different health conditions that often emerge as a result of obesity, such as:

• Asthma

• Sleep Apnea

• Cancer

• Diabetes

• Heart disease

• Stroke

• Gallbladder disease

• Gallstones

• Gout

• Arthritis

In addition to the physical ailments listed above, obesity also often causes damage to the mental well-being of the overweight individual. Many obese and overweight individuals experience depression or severe anxiety as a result of the social effects of being overweight, which include the constant pressure to become thin, or the stereotype that they are lazy due to their weight.

How is Obesity Measured?

There are many different forms of treatment for obesity, such as bariatric surgery, medical weight loss, lifestyle modification and simple diet and exercise. In order to qualify for medical weight loss or surgery you must meet certain criteria.

Obesity is measured through a comprehensive evaluation of an individual’s age, height and weight, including fat distribution and composition. The development of obesity related illnesses also impacts the medical determination of a person’s weight level and eligibility for medical weight loss treatment.

The most popular measure currently used to measure obesity is the body mass index (BMI). The BMI measures your height in respect to your weight. A healthy BMI is between 18 and 24, a score below 18 is considered underweight and a score greater than 24 is considered overweight. Overweight BMI levels are broken down into categories that gage the severity of obesity:

• Grade 1 Obesity: BMI score that is between 25- 29. This level is considered moderately overweight and patients in this range are often not eligible for weight loss surgery.

• Grade 2 Obesity: BMI score that is between 30- 39. This is considered severely overweight or obese

• Grade 3 Obesity: BMI score is greater than 40. This level is considered morbidly obese. Patients in this category are often at heightened health risks that could be life threatening.

While the BMI scale is an accurate measurement of health and obesity for many overweight people, physically fit people with a high level of muscle mass are often given high and misleading BMI scores.