Archive for April 25th, 2008

Weight, Obesity, and BMI

April 25th, 2008

Did you know 1 out of 3 Americans is obese? 2 out of 3 are overweight? Yep, according to a 2007 CDC study. And according to a 2007 worldwide study, 40% of adults are overweight, with 25% being obese. Holy crap. More people are obese than underweight worldwide (WHO 2000). And don’t forget the childrens – 15% of those ages 6-19 are overweight according to 2000 CDC data, triple what it was in 1980 (more stats).

But how much do you have to weigh to be considered obese? Well, you are considered obese if you have a BMI greater than 30, and overweight if its greater than 25.

What is BMI? Body Mass Index. It’s the most popular, accurate way (heh, way, pun) to measure obesity (sort of). It’s a simple formula based on your weight (lbs or kg) and height (inches or meters). According to CDC, the BMI formula is 703 x (lbs) / (inches^2), or if you are from metric land, its just weight (kg) / [height (m)]2. For me, I have a 23.7 BMI, thats 703 x 175 lbs / (72 inches)^2 = 23.7, or 79.4 kg / (1.83 meters)^2 = 23.7 in metric talk. Heres my BMI results from this BMI Calculator, which gives you a nice chart like this:

BMI Weight Range (6′ tall) Weight Status
18.4 and Below 135.7 lbs and Below Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 136.4 – 183.6 lbs Normal
25.0 – 29.9 184.4 – 220.5 lbs Overweight
30.0 – 34.9 221.2 – 257.4 lbs Obese (moderate)
35.0 – 39.9 258.1 – 294.2 lbs Obese (severe)
40.0 and Above 295.0 lbs and Above Obese (very severe)

If you’re 20 years or older, its the same for men and women. Here’s a BMI Calculator for those under 20. If you ain’t feeling this math or the BMI thing, don’t worry – I crunched the numbers and made this reference chart.


Weight Chart, Over 20 years old

Height Normal Weight Range Obese
5 ft, 0 inches 94.7 – 127.7 lbs 153.3 or more
5 ft, 1 inches 97.9 – 132.0 lbs 158.5 or more
5 ft, 2 inches 101.1 – 136.4 lbs 163.7 or more
5 ft, 3 inches 104.4 – 140.8 lbs 169.0 or more
5 ft, 4 inches 107.7 – 145.3 lbs 174.5 or more
5 ft, 5 inches 111.1 – 149.9 lbs 179.9 or more
5 ft, 6 inches 114.6 – 154.5 lbs 185.5 or more
5 ft, 7 inches 118.1 – 159.3 lbs 191.2 or more
5 ft, 8 inches 121.6 – 164.1 lbs 196.9 or more
5 ft, 9 inches 125.2 – 168.9 lbs 202.8 or more
5 ft, 10 inches 128.9 – 173.8 lbs 208.7 or more
5 ft, 11 inches 132.6 – 178.9 lbs 214.7 or more
6 ft, 0 inches 136.4 – 183.9 lbs 220.8 or more
6 ft, 1 inches 140.2 – 189.1 lbs 227.0 or more
6 ft, 2 inches 144.1 – 194.3 lbs 233.2 or more
6 ft, 3 inches 148.0 – 199.6 lbs 239.6 or more
6 ft, 4 inches 152.0 – 204.9 lbs 246.0 or more
6 ft, 5 inches 156.0 – 210.4 lbs 252.5 or more
6 ft, 6 inches 160.1 – 215.9 lbs 259.1 or more
6 ft, 7 inches 164.2 – 221.4 lbs 265.8 or more
6 ft, 8 inches 168.4 – 227.1 lbs 272.6 or more

Notes:

I’m not sure I trust CDC entirely. This 2006 CDC study said no change in American obesity since 2003-2004. But by their own numbers, obesity went up 2% overall, almost a 7% increase (males up 7.1% from 31.1% to 33.3%, females up 6.3% from 33.2% to 35.3%). At that rate the number of obese people will more than double in 11 years. Yes, no-increase means double in 11 years. Hello? Is this the new Bush-Era Science?