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Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that health may be negatively affected.[1] It is commonly defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher.[1] This distinguishes it from being overweight as defined by a BMI of 25 kg/m2 or higher.[1]
Excessive body weight is associated with various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.[2][3] As a result, obesity has been found to reduce life expectancy.[3] The primary treatment for obesity is dieting and physical exercise. If this fails, anti-obesity drugs and (in severe cases) bariatric surgery can be tried.[2][4] A combination of excessive caloric intake, lack of physical activity, and genetic susceptibility is thought to explain most cases of obesity, with a limited number of cases due solely to genetics, medical reasons, or psychiatric illness.
As obesity is one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide and with rates of adult and childhood obesity increasing, authorities view it as one of the most serious public health problem of the 21st century.[5] Obesity is often stigmatized in the modern Western world. It has, however been perceived as a symbol of wealth and fertility at other times in history and still is in many parts of Africa.[3][6]
Obesity, in absolute terms, is an increase of body adipose tissue (fat tissue) mass. In a practical setting it is difficult to determine this directly. Therefore, obesity is typically assessed by BMI (body mass index) and in terms of its distribution via the waist circumference.[7] In addition, the presence of obesity needs to be evaluated in the context of other risk factors such as medical conditions that could influence the risk of complications.[2]
Body mass index or BMI is a simple and widely used method for estimating body fat mass.[8] BMI was developed in the 19th century by the Belgian statistician and anthropometrist Adolphe Quetelet.[9] BMI is an accurate reflection of body fat percentage in the majority of the adult population. It is less accurate in people such as body builders and pregnant women in whom body composition is affected.[2]
BMI is calculated by dividing the subject’s mass by the square of his or her height, typically expressed either in metric or US “Customary” units:
where lb is the subject’s weight in pounds and in is the subject’s height in inches.
The most commonly used definitions, established by the WHO in 1997 and published in 2000, provide the values listed in the table at right.[1]
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