Just because you can’t fit into a size two pair of jeans or don’t look like Pamela Anderson when you run in slow motion across the beach doesn’t mean you’re overweight—and just because you’re overweight doesn’t mean you’re fat. While the number of folks who are overweight has risen drastically in the United States and obesity has become something of an epidemic, even your doctor will tell you: the terms are not synonymous.
Being overweight is exactly what it sounds like: a person’s weight is perhaps greater than what it should be, and while it still increases health risks, it is manageable. Being obese, on the other hand, means someone has gone beyond being pleasantly plump and has developed a dangerous excess of fat. The body mass index (BMI) scale was developed in the mid 1800s as a way to measure an appropriate weight according to height. A rating of 18.5 to 24.9 is the normal range, while being overweight means the ratio of weight compared to height is between 25 and 29.9. Anything over 30 is considered obese.
To figure out which BMI category you fall into, multiply your weight (in pounds) by 703 and divide that number by your height (in inches squared).
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