How is Obesity Measured?

Of course there are may ways to measure obesity besides the eye of the beholder. One such way is to use BODY MASS INDEX (BMI). To determine if you are obese or not, without a mirror,  weigh your body in terms of kilograms and measure your height in terms of meters.

BMI = weight in kg/height m2

"In adults Overweight, or pre-obesity, is defined as a BMI of 25-29.9 kg/m², while a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² defines obesity.   These BMI thresholds were proposed by WHO expert report and reflect the increasing risk of excess weight as BMI increases above an optimal range of 21-23 kg/m², the recommended median goal for adult Caucasian populations (WHO/NUT/NCD, 2000).  In children different cut off points are used. " Retrieved July 6, 2017 from http://www.worldobesity.org/ data/cut-points-used/

If obesity has a negative impact on health, I suppose it makes sense to do what is necessary to "reverse or get rid of the condition. But that is a decision that every person has to make on their own. Afterall, like the song says, "My body is  nobody's body but mine. You run your own body, let me run mine."

If I were obese and didn't want to be, I think I would need some help in controlling my consumption--not only the amount but the substance as well. I am not sure,  if I would look to surgery as my magic bullet, fix it recipe.

'Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach along the greater curvature. The result is a sleeve or tube like structure. The procedure permanently reduces the size of the stomach, although there could be some dilatation of the stomach later on in life. The procedure is generally performed laparoscopically and is irreversible." Retrieved July 6 2017 from  https://en.wikipedia.org/ 

 wiki/Sleeve_gastrectomy


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