According to a recent poll, about 60% of overweight people don't realize they need to lose weight. Even more troubling, another study found that 85% of obese people don't recognize that they are obese. So how can you determine whether you are at your ideal weight?
The numbers on the scale might not be a good indicator of overall health if you have "normal-weight obesity": Your body weight falls within the normal range, but you have a high percentage of body fat as well as heart and metabolic disturbances typical of people who are obese.
Body composition and risk factors for metabolic and heart disease were assessed in 2,127 men and women who participated in the third U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and had a body mass index (BMI) within the normal range (between 18.5 and 24.9).
Despite a normal BMI, more than half of participants had a high body fat percentage, a greater incidence of metabolic syndrome (which often leads to type 2 diabetes), and high blood levels of leptin, a hormone that regulates appetite.
Although a person's percentage of body fat may be a more meaningful way to predict the risk of heart disease and diabetes than simply computing BMI, it is more difficult to truly measure percentage of body fat. As a good estimate, measure your waist circumference.
Reported at the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology, 4/1/08.
