diagnosing obesity:
1.Ratio of body weight to height (BMI)
2.Circumference of one’s waist
3.Presence of risk factors related to heart disease
1. Body Mass Index (BMI)—Measures Fat and Muscle Mass
The ratio of body weight to height is called the body mass index (BMI), and reflects the total fat as related to one’s height and weight. Your BMI can be determined by using the following chart:
Find your height on the left side and follow the line until it intersects with the line representing your weight, as listed at the bottom. If your BMI is in the white zone, you are underweight; if it is in the green zone, you are of normal weight for your height; if in the Yellow zone, you are overweight; and if in the red zone, you are obese and are in the morbidly obese zone, or the high BMI group. BMI may give false information for muscular individuals because the extra weight may be because of the extra muscles. Calculate your BMI at http://www.bmi-calculator.net
Almost all medical professionals and nutritionists agree that if you are in the obese category, i.e., if your BMI is greater than 30, you are at serious risk and need to lose weight urgently. Those who fall into the overweight group (the yellow zone) need to lose weight as well, and modify their risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and smoking should be considered.
| BMI | Status | Obesity Treatment |
| Less than 17.9 | Under weight | None |
| 18 to 24.9 | Normal weight | None |
| 25.0 to 29.9 | Overweight | Possible treatment, consider risk factors |
| 30 to 39.9 | Obese | Treatment needed |
| Above 40 | Morbidly obese | Treatment mandatory |
2. The Circumference of the Waist— Best Measure of Obesity Complications
More important than body weight or BMI, is the circumference of the waist because this is a direct measurement of accumulation of abnormal fat cells around and beneath the abdomen. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, it’s the fat inside the abdomen that causes all of the problems.
Clumped together, the fat cells just below the skin of your abdomen—surrounding all of your vital organs—are no larger than a bar of soap, but are the cause of all obesity-related medical problems. Since measuring the inner fat is difficult and expensive, researchers use the circumference of the waist as a good approximation. A waist circumference larger than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women correlates with the critical amount of inner fat responsible for the development of the complications related to obesity: heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and even polycystic ovary syndrome.
•Fifteen percent increase in the risk of diabetes
•Seven percent increase in the risk of heart disease and strokes.
•Women with waists greater then 34 inches are twice as likely to develop diabetes.
•Men with waists greater than 40 inches are twelve times more likely to develop diabetes
Without understanding the important contribution of abdominal fat cells to health, Dr. Simeons was one of the early pioneers in recognizing the need to lose weight around the abdomen. His HCG protocol produced profound reduction in inches and fat accumulation around the abdomen.
3. The Presence of Risk Factors for Heart Disease:
Risk factors for heart disease must also be considered in the decision to lose weight because obesity and heart disease are closely related. If you have three or more of the conditions listed below, you are at high risk for cardiac problems. Moreover, if you also have a high BMI or a large waist circumference, you are considered to have metabolic syndrome.
1.Age: males older than 45 years and females older than 55 years
2.Family history of heart disease
3.Cigarette smoking
4.High blood pressure
5.Elevated LDL cholesterol
6.Elevated blood glucose
7.Physical inactivity
Do You Have the Metabolic Syndrome?
About 15 years ago, scientists from medical schools at several universities began to notice an unusual group of health problems occurring together: hypertension, high cholesterol, high fat content in the blood, diabetes, and an unusual collection of fat around the waist (instead of being equally distributed over the body). This cluster of medical problems is known today as metabolic syndrome. Data suggests that more than
•25 percent of the U.S. population has metabolic syndrome.
•80 to 90 percent of us will suffer from Metabolic syndrome by the year 2030.
Very few complications of the Metabolic Syndrome can be detected before it’s too late. The first is often a heart attack or a stroke; other individuals will find out during a routine health evaluation that they have developed diabetes or hypertension. Although metabolic syndrome may be caused by both genetic and environmental factors, its basic formulation is simple: too much food in and too little energy expended. Consequently, similar to treatments for hypertension, diabetes, or high cholesterol, the first step for anyone needing to lose weight is to change their lifestyle.
The following table shows you several of the many sets of criteria for the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Having three out of the seven criteria is sufficient to establish that you have the condition.
If You Have 3/7 Criteria You Have Metabolic Syndrome
1.Waist greater than 35 inches in females, 40 inches in males
2.BMI greater than 30
3.Low
