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Whether you are obese or not is determined by your height, weight and the amount of body fat you have.
Muscle weighs more than fat so two people of the same height may have different weights but neither may neccessarily be obese or even overweight.
Clinical obesity is usually determmined by a persons Body Mass Index. This is your weight (in kilos)divided by your height (in meters)squared. So a person who is 1.7 m tall and weight 90 kilos would have a BMI of 31.1. This is clinically obese. A normal range for a BMI would be around 19-26, although there have been variances of a point or two in either direction. A BMI of 31.1 would be clinically obese, when a BMI scores 40+ a person is said to be morbidly obese as the body can not support this kind of weight for long.

When a body is carrying too much weight there are increased demands on the heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to the whole body. Commonly people who are overweight will also have high blood pressure as a result of these extra demands.
There is also weight and therefor stress on the body joints, particularly the hips, knees and ankles which can be extremely painful and may be pre-cursors to arthritis in these joints.
The reason people are obese is generally due to a poor diet hight in saturated fat and refined sugars. The "slow metabolism" people often blame for their weight problems is rarely caused by genetic factors but by that persons bad eating and excercise Patterns. The poor diet often results in diabetes. This can the lead to renal problems and when coupled with an already stressed circulatory system (the heart, lungs and blood vessels) can lead to periferal damage, most commonly to the feet and legs. Diabetes causes a loss of sensation in the toes and other extremities, when a person then damages the area such as when clipping toe nails, they do not know they have caused damage. Poor circulation means the area does not heal well and in extreme cases, amputaion is necessary.
There are many many more complications of obesity such as the altered body image, difficulties in performing sex, exclusion from medical treatments (such as operations which require general sedation as this is unsafe for people who are obese due to respiratory complications) and as mobility becomes impeded, social exclusion may result.
Anyone who is a little overweight should consult a dietician and make a plan for safe weight loss. For those who are clinically or morbidly obese it is essentail that they seek profession guidance when commencing a weight loss plan as their other health concerns such as diabetes will have to be considered when planning a new eating programme.

Learn more about this author, Sharon Brown.
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