Obesity
Individuals who are obese are at increased risk for high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Obesity is defined as being at least 20 percent over your ideal weight. Another measure of obesity is percent body fat. The two best ways to determine a person's amount of body fat are to measure the distance around the waist and to determine the body mass index (BMI).
A woman with a waistline of 35 inches or more is considered high risk, 40 inches or more for men.
The BMI compares a person's weight relative to their height. To determine your BMI, weigh and measure yourself wearing very little clothing and no shoes. Locate your height in feet and inches on the table below and then find your weight. If your weight is less than what the "overweight" column shows, then you are at a healthy weight for your height. The table is from the American Heart Association.
| Height |
Overweight
(BMI 25.0 - 29.9)
Moderate Risk |
Obese
(BMI 30.0 and above)
High Risk |
| 4' 10" |
119 - 142 lbs |
143 lbs + |
| 4' 11" |
124 - 147 |
148+ |
| 5' 0" |
128 - 152 |
153+ |
| 5' 1" |
132 - 157 |
158+ |
| 5' 2" |
136 - 163 |
164+ |
| 5' 3" |
141 - 168 |
169+ |
| 5' 4" |
145 - 173 |
174+ |
| 5' 5" |
150 - 179 |
180+ |
| 5' 6" |
155 - 185 |
186+ |
| 5' 7" |
159 - 190 |
191+ |
| 5' 8" |
164 - 196 |
197+ |
| 5' 9" |
169 - 202 |
203+ |
| 5' 10" |
174 - 208 |
209+ |
| 5' 11" |
179 - 214 |
215+ |
| 6' 0" |
184 - 220 |
221+ |
| 6' 1" |
189 - 226 |
227+ |
| 6' 2" |
194 - 232 |
233+ |
| 6' 3" |
200 - 239 |
240+ |
| 6' 4" |
205 - 245 |
246+ |
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