This article takes a closer look at the difference between overweight and obesity.
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What Is Overweight?
Overweight is defined as being too heavy for one’s height.
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The medical definition of overweight is based onbody mass index.
Just slide in your information to learn your BMI.
What Is Obesity?
Obesityis a chronic disease marked by an abnormally, high, unhealthy amount of body fat.
Obesity is a major risk factor for numerous other diseases.
The medical definition for obesity also hinges on the BMI calculation.
Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30.0 or greater.
A BMI of 40.0 or greater is often referred to as morbid obesity."
Meanwhile, a person may be eligible for bariatric surgery if they have a BMI of 35 or higher.
Again, BMI is just a rough measure that doesn’t consider body composition.
Thus, BMI is intended to be used only as one part of a more detailed clinical assessment.
Health Risks
Many studies have shown that the likelihood of many health conditions increases as BMI increases.
Other Factors That Impact Health
Excess weight is not always the direct cause of a medical condition.
These co-occurring risk factors may also be aggravated by body weight.
Some lifestyle changes may even counteract genetic risk, especially a healthy diet and regular exercise.
For example, poor diet and lack of physical activity are risk factors for higher BMIs and cancer.
Furthermore, adopting a healthy lifestyle substantially reduces the risk of premature death due to any cause.
A healthy lifestyle entails more than eating healthy and exercising regularly.
It also means no cigarette smoking and limiting alcohol intake.
Work with your healthcare provider to create an eating plan that is safe and sustainable for you.
There are eightFDA-approved drugs for weight management, including Xenical, Contrave, and Zepbound.
Devices:Another possible option is weight-loss devices.
These devices work by limiting the amount of food a person can eat or increasing digestion time.
There are a few forms of weight loss surgery.
Gastric banding works by placing a band around the upper part of the stomach to make the stomach smaller.
Since 2011, Medicare has covered the cost of behavioral therapy for patients with a diagnosis of obesity.
This may consist of screening with BMI and waist circumference, dietary assessment, and high-intensity behavioral interventions.
Coverage for bariatric surgery is also available under certain criteria.
Further coverage by health plans for other obesity-related management options and interventions will likely continue to vary.
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