There Are More Obese Americans Than Previously Thought

May 2, 2010

Weight Loss News

Obesity is on the rise. We all hear this form the media. But did you know that the American system of measuring the level of obesity is wrong. In fact if a more accurate system would be used the number of obese people would more likely double over the night.

You see the US guidelines for determining who is obese and who is just overweight is the body mass index or BMI. The body mass index checks to see how proportional a person’s height is to their weight. This unfortunately isn’t that accurate. A more accurate measurement of obesity can be achieved by using the World Health Organization guidelines which use the body fat analysis.

For example in the case of women of reproductive age found obese using the body fat analysis system of classification only half of those were considered obese according to their BMI score. This has huge ramifications on the health care received by the obese people considered not obese by the system.

Obese people have a higher risk of getting various cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and many more excess fat related health problems. They should receive special care in hospitals and from their personal physicians.

I believe that by using a more accurate system for measuring the degree of obesity people will get more motivated to lose weight and get healthier. It’s one thing when your doctor says you are overweight and another when he tells you are obese. I know that being called obese would put a lot of people on the move towards a slimmer future.

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