Source: phillyvoice.com<\/p>\n
Obesity rates have been rising in the United States for several decades, a trend that has public health officials concerned given the serious health risks associated with the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About 93.3 million people in the United States are obese \u2013 nearly 40% of the adult population \u2013\u00a0according to a 2018 study.<\/p>\n
Obesity is considered a major risk factor for various conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular\u00a0disease, high blood pressure and cancer.\u00a0Almost 365,000 deaths each year can be attributed to obesity, according to\u00a0Harvard Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To calculate it, you can simply input your height and weight into an online BMI calculator like this\u00a0one.\u00a0A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. A BMI of 30 and over is considered obese. Anything beneath 18.5 is viewed as underweight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Waist circumference is another way to determine your risk for obesity and its related health issues. For women, a waist size larger than 35 inches is of concern. For men, it’s a waist larger than 40 inches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even\u00a0losing few pounds can improve cardiovascular health, according to the\u00a0American Heart Association.\u00a0Not only can the body circulate blood in a more efficient manner, but it can also manage fluid levels better.<\/p>\n
Additionally, losing weight can help people who are\u00a0obese better manage high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol and\u00a0triglyceride levels. Obesity also increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, BMI only can tell us so much about our health. According to the\u00a0National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, it “may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build” or it “may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle.”<\/p>\n
Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, of Harvard Health, cautions that BMI is\u00a0not a measure of patient’s total health.\u00a0There are people with a high BMI who are healthy and people with a normal BMI who are not, he says. Still, Shmerling\u00a0finds it a useful tool because a high BMI is linked to increased risk for various health conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0also does not consider BMI a diagnostic tool for disease risk. It recommends making time for regular health evaluations from a trained healthcare provider.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[1139,311,257,1058,636,2022,521,51,2435],"class_list":["post-2938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weight-loss-gain","tag-bmi","tag-cancer","tag-cardiovascular","tag-diabetes","tag-fitness","tag-heart-health","tag-hypertension","tag-obesity","tag-philadelphia"],"yoast_head":"\n