Overweight Obesity

Most people believe someone is obese if they look fat. This is not true. Health-care professionals and scientists have developed specific definitions for the words overweight and obese. Overweight and obesity are not determined solely by an individual s weight, but are defined in terms of a person s weight relative to his or her height. Doctors and researchers use a special set of measurements and mathematical formulas to determine whether a person is overweight or obese. 

T. Sturmer, K. P. Gunther, H. Brenner, Obesity, overweight and patterns of osteoarthritis the ULM osteoarthritis smdy, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2000, 53, 307-313. 

The minimum average energy requirement for a sedentary adult to survive is around 2,000 kcal a day, which rises to 4,000 or more if the person is engaged in strenuous labor much of the day. Only a very small percentage of the U.S. population is involved in strenuous labor, yet much of the population consumes over 4,000 calorics each day, resulting in an America that is 50 percent overweight and 20 percent obese. 

Since Americans enjoy the cheap food supply made possible from a huge agricultural surplus, and there seems to be no desire to reject technology and go back to a reliance on manual labor, the food surplus problem of an overweight and obese America is likely to remain for years to come. 

Obesity is defined by the body mass index (BMI), measured as body weight in kilograms divided by the squared height in metres (kg/m2). A BMI of 30 or more is a commonly-used criterion for defining obesity and a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight. 

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in most industrialized countries over the last two decades. Many serious diseases, such as stroke, diabetes mellitus and other chronic conditions, are directly related to being overweight (1, 2). The number of adults who are classified as extremely obese tallies in the nullions for the United States alone (3). The number of children that are most likely obese adults for the rest of their lives has tripled in the same time period (3). 

Adjusted nutrition body weight for overweight, obese, or extremely obese patients... 

Overweight or obese, or concerns about weight Aripiprazole, ziprasidone Risperidone, quetiapine... 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overweight and Obesity Trends. CDC. Available at www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/ index.htm accessed March 28,2006. 

Messier SP, Loeser RF, Miller GD, et al. Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis The Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial. Arthritis Rheum 2004 50 1501-1510. 

Identify desired therapeutic goals for patients who are overweight or obese. 

Recommend appropriate nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapeutic interventions for overweight or obese patients. 

Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, comorbidities, and readiness to lose weight are used in the assessment of the overweight or obese patient. 

The treatment goals for overweight and obesity are to prevent additional weight gain, reduce and maintain a lower body weight, and control related risks. 

The prevalence of overweight and obesity continues to increase, keeping this disease a major public health concern. Results from the most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) reflect an increased combined prevalence for overweight and obesity among adults... 

Underweight Normal weight Overweight Obesity (class 1)... 

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