Am I Overweight?
It is no accident that you have found this article at this Web site -- you more than likely are overweight, or at least you feel as though you are. In the title of this article is a question that you probably have asked yourself: Am I Overweight? The answer to that question is often a very subjective one, based as much on feelings and emotions as on actual data. In scientific and medical terms:
* You are overweight if you weigh more than your recommended body weight range in the chart you can see on the Am I Overweight page. A figure that represents the percentage of your body weight that is due to fat is the Body Mass Index (BMI), which can be found on the table on the same page. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. In other words the algebraic expression for BMI is: BMI = Kg / (m)2. BMI ratings between 20 and 25 are considered in the healthy range, and ratings between 26 and 30 are considered overweight.
* But BMI may overestimate body fat or inaccurately estimate total body fat in muscular persons or those losing muscle, according to the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute. Older people who have lost muscle mass have more fat for a given BMI than do younger people, as as result. For that reason, waist measurement is often checked as well. Another reason is that too much body fat in the stomach area also increases disease risk. A waist measurement of more than 35 inches in women and more than 40 inches in men is considered high.
* If you are more than 20 percent over your recommended body weight range, you are considered obese. For example, the chart indicates that a 5’6” person’s recommended weight range goes as high as 154 pounds. Twenty percent of 154 (154 X .2) equals 30.8. Rounded up to 31 and added to the base weight of 154, it would indicate that a person who is 5’6” and weighs 185 is considered to be obese. BMI ratings between 30 and 39 are also considered to be indicative of obesity.
* Morbid obesity is defined as being 100 pounds or more over the recommended body weight range, or having a BMI rating of 40 or more.
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