Guide To Health Effects Of Excess Weight And Waist Circumference If You Are Mildly Obese
Mild Obesity
Anyone with a body mass index (BMI) of 30-35 is classified as mildly obese. For example, someone with a height of 5 feet 0 inches, who weighs 153-179 pounds suffers from mild obesity. The same applies to someone who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, who weighs 180-210 pounds.
Paradoxically, even though obesity is a disease caused by excess body fat (not excess weight), the standard BMI weight assessment method takes no account of body fat percentage. Thus athletes with a high proportion of muscle mass may be mildly obese even though they are in excellent physical health. Also, BMI is most applicable to the physique of Westerners, and may therefore under-state the health risks of peoples in the Far East who typically weigh less and have a lighter body frame.
Prevalence Of Mild Obesity
The incidence of global obesity (globesity) continues to grow. An estimated 61.3 million American adults (30.5 percent) are obese (Source: US Census 2000; NHANES III data estimates). We await new statistics on this condition.
Health Dangers And Risks
According to weight-related incidence of disease, mild obesity carries an increased risk of conditions such as: hypertension, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This health risk is further increased in patients with a history of weight-related illness, who eat an unbalanced diet, or who lead an unhealthy lifestyle.
Importance Of Waist Circumference
Recently, medical experts have emphasised the importance of waist-measurement as an independent predictor of ill-health. This is because abdominal fat (fatty tissue stored around the stomach and abdomen) has been linked to an increased risk of serious disease. In other words, it’s no longer simply a question of how much extra fat you have on your body: where this excess fat is located is also relevant.