What is obesity?
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According to the World Obesity Federation; ‘Obesity is a medical condition described as excess body weight in the form of fat. When accumulated, this fat can lead to severe health impairments.’
Commonly, Body Mass Index, which takes into account your height and weight, is used to determine if someone is a healthy weight. For most adults, a BMI of:
- 18.5 to 24.9 - healthy weight
- 25 to 29.9 - overweight
- 30 to 39.9 - obesity
- 40 or above - severe obesity
However, BMI is a very crude measure, and is not used on its own to diagnose obesity. Other factors, such as your gender, ethnicity, body composition and age should be taken into account. You can use the NHS BMI calculator to check yours.
Other measures, such as waist circumference, can be used to diagnose whether someone is living with obesity and to assess their risk of developing other health conditions such as Type 2 diabetes.
What causes obesity?
Obesity is a complex condition influenced by many factors. These include diet, activi...
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