According to ANRED (Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders), not everyone agrees on what "obese" means. There are personal definitions, and there is also a clinical definition.
Personal Definitions
Personal definitions are imporant. For example, a person with anorexia nervosa may define obesity as a weight gain of five pounds, while a grandmother past menopause may call herself obese because she carries 165 pounds on her large-boned, muscular body. A modeling agency may talk about obesity when one of the women on the payroll puts 135 pounds on her 5'10" body.
None of these women is clinically obese. The anorexic and the model are underweight.
Men are split in their personal definitions of obesity. Many are just as concerned about overweight as women are, while others, frankly rotund, believe they are just fine, perfectly healthy, and universally attractive to potential romantic partners.
Clinical Definition
Clinically, obesity is described in terms of Body Mass Index, a more accurate measure than weight alone.
- A healthy BMI is 19-24.
- Simple overweight is a BMI of 25-29.
- Obesity begins at a BMI of 30.
- Morbid obesity begins at a BMI of 40.
- Super morbid obesity begins at a BMI of 50, and
- Super-super morbid obesity begins at a BMI above 60.
To learn your Body Mass Index, use the simple calculator provided by the Obesity Education Initiative.
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