This information on obesity is provided by the National Institutes of Health: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA): Dietary Guidelines for Americans and is provided here as a convenience. Please check www.niddk.nih.gov and www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines for updated information.

	Measuring Obesity
	Obesity – Soon to become America’s largest killer?

Measuring Obesity
Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference provide useful estimates of overweight, obesity, and body fat distribution. In recent years, the body mass index (BMI) has become the medical standard used to measure overweight and obesity.

Body Mass Index
Body Mass Index (BMI) can be used to measure both overweight and obesity in adults. It is the measurement of choice for many obesity researchers and other health professionals. BMI is a direct calculation based on height and weight, and it is not gender-specific. Most health organizations and published information on overweight and its associated risk factors use BMI to measure and define overweight and obesity. BMI does not directly measure percent of body fat, but it provides a more accurate measure of overweight and obesity than relying on weight alone.

BMI Not Perfect
BMI is a height-weight system of measurement that applies to both sexes. It's not a perfect system, because (e.g.) very muscular people may fall into the "overweight" category when they are actually healthy and fit. But it's a useful pointer for most people.

How is Body Mass Index (BMI) calculated?
BMI is found by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by height in meters squared.

The BMI mathematical formula is:
BMI = kg/m2

Note: To determine your BMI using pounds and inches, multiply your weight in pounds by 704.5, then divide the result by your height in inches, and divide that result by your height in inches a second time.

The multiplier 704.5 is used by the National Institutes of Health. Other organizations may use a slightly different multiplier; for example, the American Dietetic Association suggests multiplying by 700. The variation in outcome (a few tenths) is insignificant.

The standard ranges of BMI related to weight are as follows:

	Underweight = <18.5
	Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
	Overweight = 25-29.9
	Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

The BMI ranges shown at right are for adults. They are not exact ranges of healthy and unhealthy weights. However, they show that health risk increases at higher levels of overweight and obesity. Even within the healthy BMI range, weight gains can carry health risks for adults. Directions: Find your weight on the bottom of the graph. Go straight up from that point until you come to the line that matches your height. Then look to find your weight group. Obese people are also overweight.
The location of fat on your body is significant. If you carry fat mainly around your waist, you are more likely to develop health problems than if you carry fat mainly in your hips and thighs. This is true even if your BMI falls within the normal range. Women with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches or men with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches may have a higher disease risk than people with smaller waist measurements because of where their fat lies. SOURCE: Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2000. INFOGRAPHIC: FDA/Renée Gordon

Obesity – Soon to become America’s largest killer?
According to a health warning about weight, issued by the US Surgeon General, obesity may soon overtake smoking as the leading cause of preventable deaths in the US. The facts are compelling. In America, an estimated 68.3 million adults are overweight; 61.3 million are obese (seriously overweight) and 3 million suffer from life-threatening obesity (morbid obesity). Since 1990, there has been a 76 percent increase in Type 2 diabetes in adults aged 30-40 yrs old. As a weight gain of only 11-18 pounds raises a person's risk of developing type 2 diabetes to twice that of individuals who have not gained weight, the health risks of overweight are obvious.

Obesity Deaths
Each year an estimated 300,000 Americans die prematurely of disease caused by or related to obesity or being very overweight? (vs 400,000 tobacco-related)

Obesity Trends
Recent figures show that in the past two decades the number of overweight children and adolescents has doubled. Also, over one-half of all American adults are overweight and this number of obese adults has doubled.

	129.6 American adults are overweight
	• 61.1 million are men and 64.5 million are women • 61.3 million are classified as obese (43% are men and 57% are women)
	77.3% of African American men are overweight and 60.7% of the women.
	71.9% of Mexican American men are overweight and 74.7% of the women.

SOURCE: www.niddk.nih.gov