Relationship Between Weight, Obesity
& Health
Weight Related Risk Factors
BMI, Body Fat Percentage and Waist Circumference
By checking your Body Mass Index, Body
Fat Percentage and Waist Circumference or Waist-Hip Ratio, or by comparing
your body weight with the Healthy Weight Chart, you can quickly see whether
you are underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. You may decide
to lose weight as a result of these factors.
Health Care Professionals Study Weight
Related Risk Factors
When physicians or other health care professionals
assess your weight, then as well as BMI and other measurements, they also
look for the presence of other weight-related risk factors. The more of
these risk factors you have, the more you are likely to benefit from weight
loss if you are overweight or obese.
Weight Related Risk Factors
The types of weight-related risk factors
that professionals look for, include:
- A personal or family history of heart
disease
- A Family history of weight-related health
problems
- Age - Male older than 45 years; or a
postmenopausal female
- Evidence of high blood pressure
- Evidence of abnormal blood fats (high
LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides)
- Evidence of high blood sugar
- Evidence of Respiratory problems
- Evidence of Arthritis in Hips or knees
- Lifestyle risks, like: smoking, lack
of exercise, poor eating habits
Metabolic Syndrome - Syndrome X
Called Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X,
this comprises a clustering of 5 overweight-related symptoms that combine
to boost the risk of cardiovascular disease. The weight-related symptoms
are:
- Intra-abdominal (central fat) obesity
- Insulin resistance
- Impaired glucose tolerance
- High blood pressure
- Poor blood lipid (fats) profile.
People with two or more of these weight-related
symptoms may be classified as having 'Syndrome X'.
Weight Related Risk Factors - Recommended
Weight Strategy
- If you are normal weight without risk
factors, you're doing fine!
- If you are high-normal with some of
the above risk factors, consider losing 5-10 percent of your present
body weight to reduce these risk factors.
- If you are overweight (or obese) with
some of the above risk factors, take action now! See your doctor and
ask him to advise you about your weight loss options.
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