What is Obesity?
We’ve all heard a lot about obesity recently, but what exactly is it? Obesity is the result of the excessive accumulation of fat that exceeds the body’s skeletal and physical standards. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of 20% or more above your ideal body weight is the point at which excess weight becomes a health risk. Today, 97 million Americans, more that one-third of the adult population, are overweight or obese. An estimated 5 to 10 million of these are considered morbidly obese.
What is Morbid Obesity?
Morbid obesity is typically defined as being 100 pounds or more above a person’s ideal body weight or having a Body Mass Index (BMI) or 40 or higher. To calculate your BMI, click on the “Am I a Candidate for Weight Loss Surgery?” section in this website. Obesity becomes “morbid” when it reaches the point of significantly increasing the risk of one or more obesity-related health conditions or serious diseases (also known as co-morbidities) that result either in serious physical disability or even death. Morbid obesity may also be referred to by the term “clinically severe obesity”.