Question

As opposed to obesity, why is being overweight not necessarily a health risk?

Answer 1

A. Obesity: It is a serious, chronic disease that can have a negative effect on many systems in your body. Overweight and obesity may increase the risk of many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, bone and joint disease.

Body Mass Index: The BMI is one way to tell whether you are at a normal weight, are overweight, or have obesity. It measures your weight in relation to your height and provides a score to help place you in a category:

BMI = Weight in kilograms / (Height in meters) 2

Normal weight: BMI of 18.5 to 24.9

Overweight: BMI of 25 to 29.9

Obesity: BMI of 30 or higher

B. Factors in our society contributing to the obesity:

Obesity is a complex condition with biological, genetic, behavioral, social, cultural, and environmental influences. For example:

1. Individual behaviors and environmental factors can contribute to excess caloric intake and inadequate amounts of physical activity.

2. Certain medical conditions (Ex: polycystic ovary syndrome) and prescription drugs (Ex: steroids, anti-depressants) can cause weight gain.

3. Recent evidence suggests that inadequate sleep, prenatal and post-natal influences (e.g., maternal pre-pregnancy weight status, maternal smoking during pregnancy), chemical exposure, and stress may affect energy balance or obesity risk.

4. Race-ethnicity, gender, age, income, and other socio-demographic factors also can play a role in this complex health issues like obesity.

Obese does not necessarily mean unhealthy:

Most recent research suggests that how youfeel about your weight can influence your physical and psychological health much more than the actual number on the scale and also the negative health implications of carrying extra weight. Obesity stigma has also been strongly linked with compromised mental health and depression.

Many people use BMI to measure their own weight and health, but this indicator is inaccurate, and cannot portray a true picture of physical health.

Disadvantages of BMI :

1. The disadvantage of the method is that it does not differentiate between lean tissue and fat. It can also underestimate or overetimate the risk of diseases in people with low or high BMI .

2. Middle aged women and men who gained 11 to 22 pounds after age 20 we're up to three times more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 disease and gallstone than those who gained 5 or fewer pounds.

3. Weight gain even after menopause can increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

According to the recent British study, that an overweight or obese person is more likely to be “metabolically healthy” when they lead an active lifestyle and have moderate-to-high levels of fitness.

References:

N. Stefan, MD; K. Kantartzis, MD; J. Machann, PhD; F. Schick, PhD; C. Thamer, MD; K. Rittig, MD; B. Balletshofer, MD; F. Machicao, PhD; A. Fritsche, MD; H. Haring, MD; "Identification and Characterization of Metabolically Benign Obesity in Humans." Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(15):1609-1616.