People choose to lose weight for many reasons - looking better and feeling more energetic are two popular reasons. Improving or keeping your health is the most important reason.

Being overweight, eating poorly, and being physically inactive all increase your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer. Other factors affecting your disease risk include your family and medical history, and lifestyle factors such as whether you smoke or drink too much alcohol.

If you are overweight, losing just five to 10 percent of your weight and keeping it off lowers your risk for developing most of these diseases. For example, an overweight 200-pound person who loses 10 to 20 pounds may reduce risk for disease and improve health problems, such as high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol. Adopting more healthful eating habits and daily physical activity can better your health, even if you don't lose weight. This section helps you rate whether your weight puts you at risk for health problems.

Rate Your Risk
The number you see on the scale doesn't necessarily tell you whether you need to lose weight. That's because two people of the same height and weight can have different bone structures and carry different amounts of muscle and body fat. For most adults, determining your Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist size are reliable ways to tell whether you are overweight and to estimate your risk for health problems.

Your BMI uses your height and weight to estimate how much fat is on your body. A BMI of at least 25 indicates overweight. A BMI of 30 or more indicates you are obese. Generally, the higher your BMI, the higher your weight risk.

Your waist size indicates whether you have an "apple" shape and tend to carry fat around your midsection. Your health risks increase even further with increasing waist size. A waist measurement greater than 40 inches for men or 35 inches for women indicates a significant increase in health risk.

To tell whether your weight is a health risk, locate your BMI in the "Find Your BMI" chart on the facing page. Then, measure your waist at the point below your ribcage but above your navel. Use your BMI and waist size to determine your risk using the Weighing Your Risk chart.

If your weight puts you at increased risk for health problems, talk with your primary health care provider about safe and suitable options for improving your health. Use the Checklist for Evaluating Weight Loss Products and Services on page x to gather information about different programs so you can choose the best one for you.

Find Your Body Mass Index (BMI)

Find your height in the left hand column. Then, move across the row to your weight. The number at the top of the column is your BMI.

Adapted with permission from Bray, GA., Gray, D.S.
Obesity, Part 1, Pathogenesis, West J. Med. 1988:149-41

Weighing Your Risk
Use this chart to see whether your weight puts you at increased risk for health problems. Find your BMI in the left-hand column. Then, locate your waist size in one of the top columns. The box where the two meet shows your level of risk.

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