How is Obesity and Health Risk Measured?
Currently, several different measures are used to evaluate a patients weight status and potential health risk. However, a complete evaluation includes assessments of a persons age, height and weight, fat composition and distribution, and the presence or absence of other health problems and risk factors. Height-weight tables indicating ideal weight have been in use since 1959 but have their shortcomings. A newer measure of obesity that is gaining in popularity among researchers and clinicians is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is the body weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters ([weight in kg] [height in meters]2). BMI does not actually measure body fat, but generally correlates well with the degree of obesity.
Currently, several different measures are used to evaluate a patient’s weight status and potential health risk. However, a complete evaluation includes assessments of a person’s age, height and weight, fat composition and distribution, and the presence or absence of other health problems and risk factors. Height-weight tables indicating “ideal” weight have been in use since 1959 but have their shortcomings. A newer measure of obesity that is gaining in popularity among researchers and clinicians is the body mass index (BMI). BMI is the body weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters ([weight in kg] ÷ [height in meters]2). BMI does not actually measure body fat, but generally correlates well with the degree of obesity. The categories of obesity developed by the World Health Organization are: • BMI 25 to 29.9 – Grade 1 obesity (moderate overweight) • BMI 30 to 39.9 – Grade 2 obesity (severe overweight) • BMI > 40 – Grade 3 obesity (massive/morbid obesity). Using a
