For many people the word “obesity” conjures up the image of the 600 lb. model on novelty greeting cards. You know the one, dressed in lingerie with the mountains of excess fat and heavy blue eye-shadow. These people would never describe themselves as obese; “pleasingly plump”, a little chunky, or maybe just plain overweight, but never obese. In reality, “obese” is a medical term used to describe a condition where excess weight puts an individual at an increased risk for numerous conditions, diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary disease, certain types of cancer and ultimately an earlier than necessary death.
What most people do not realize is that it does not take being ...view middle of the document...
Another calculation is based on the waist-to-hip circumference ratio and just as the name would imply it is based on taking a measurement of the waist and one of the hip and again performing a mathematical calculation.
No matter which way you make the determination, obesity is a serious issue that has implications far beyond the cosmetic aspects involved. Obesity is a leading cause of disease and death. It is the #2 cause of preventable death in America, second only to tobacco use and with obesity on the rise and tobacco use on the decline; it will likely soon become the number one cause of preventable death.
Chapter 2 – Am I Obese?
Most people are very aware of whether they are at their ideal weight or not. The average woman will rarely ever claim to be at her ideal weight, there always seems to be that “last 5 pounds” to lose. Why would someone need to punch some numbers into a mathematical formula or database to find out whether or not they can be classified as obese or not? Do we really need to torture our already fragile egos that much further? No, of course not, but knowing whether you are obese or not and facing the fact that there may be serious health risks involving with sticking to the status quo can provide the motivation needed for some to get really serious about losing the weight and finally restoring, or maybe even reaching for the first time, a vibrant sense of health and well-being.
That being said, let’s look at some numbers starting with the 20% above ideal “formula”:
For the purpose of simplicity we will use the simple formula that says your ideal weight will be 100 pounds for the first 5 feet of height and 5 pounds for every additional inch tall you are (for women). You will find many websites with ideal weight, BMI, and calorie calculators in the resources section of this e-book, but this should be sufficient to get us started.
Height in feet and inches
Ideal Weight
Obese Weight
5’0”
100
120 and above
5’1”
105
126 and above
5’2”
110
132 and above
5’3”
115
138 and above
5’4”
120
144 and above
5’5”
125
150 and above
5’6”
130
156 and...
