Overweight, Obesity and BMI

Hasan A. Yahya, Ph.Ds Acoording to AHRO, over the past several decades, the prevalence of obesity among adults and children in the United States has increased dramatically and is reached epidemic proportions. Obesity in adults in the United States was 30.5 percent in 1999-2000. More than twice as many adults (nearly 65 percent) were considered to be either overweight or obese. Some 6 million U.S. adults were considered morbidly obese in 2001. Obesity is more common in women, but men are more likely to be overweight. It is defined as having a body mass index (BMI, weight in kg/height in m2) of 30 or more. For example, a 5’5” woman weighing 180 pounds or more or a 5’11” man weighing 215 pounds or more would be termed obese.

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