Obesity and Chronic Disease

Obesity is defined as an excessively high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass. It significantly increases the risk for various health conditions, including, heart disease, stroke, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, liver and gallbladder disease, certain cancers such as endometrial, breast, and colon cancer. Beyond its health impact, obesity is a major economic burden. Based on the CDC Adult Obesity Facts, the U.S. obesity-related medical costs reached $173 billion in 2019, highlighting obesity’s role as a leading contributor in preventable deaths and medical care expenses.

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure expressing the relationship (or ratio) of weight to height. BMI is frequently used by healthcare providers to assess an individual's health status and potential risks, as it is closely correlated with body fat levels. It is a mathematical formula in which a person's body weight in kilograms is divided by the square of his or her height in meters squared (wt/ht)2. Adult BMI is classified as underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obesity (classes 1-4).

To learn more about BMI and how to calculate it please click here.

Use of BMI for Children

The Children and Adolescents chart above summarizes the categories by BMI and percentages in children. Unlike adult’s BMI, BMI for children and adolescents is classified by age and gender. Because of these differences between adult and children's BMIs, the BMI for the pediatric population must be plotted on the CDC Growth Charts enabling one to determine BMI-for-age percentiles.