How To Know If You’re Overweight
If you search the question on how to know if you’re overweight, several articles will appear with most suggesting that you use your body mass index, BMI, or waist to hip measurement ratio to determine if you qualify as being overweight. An overweight person’s BMI is 25 to 30 according to the CDC. Of course, while BMI can determine weight, the CDC notes that is not an accurate reflection of health or risks to one’s health. Importantly, while a healthy BMI is always good, there are other matrices for determining if one is overweight and if something needs to be done about it.
What Does It Really Mean to be Overweight?
For this discussion, overweight means that a person exceeds a generally-accepted healthy weight, that their BMI is 25 or higher and that they are suffering adverse health consequences as a result of their weight.
Examples of adverse health responses due to being overweight include but are not limited to:
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular
- dysfunction / hypertension
- Cancer
- Digestive tract issues
- Depression
- Low self-esteem
- Poor circulation
- Snoring
- Heartburn
- Joint fatigue
- Chronic pain
Overweight people also generally exercise less than their healthier counterparts. Consequently, weight is a reason that it’s hard to use BMI to know if you’re overweight; muscle weighs more than fat, so fit, muscular people can realistically weigh more than a person who is “overweight” and have a higher BMI than that person.
Using Waist Measurement to Know if You’re Overweight
Thus, your waist measurement is infinitely more reliable than your BMI when looking for a numerical determiner of your weight. Why? A fit person will generally have a trim waistline, but a person who is overweight may have a little extra where it’s not needed.
Women with a waistline of 35 inches or higher and men with a waistline of 40 inches or higher fall into the category of being overweight.
What Do You Do if You’re Overweight?
If you do determine that you’re overweight, it’s important to take action before you become categorically obese. Obesity is not uncommon especially in America. Despite that, it is avoidable in many cases if you confront your struggle head on.
If you find you’re overweight, consult a doctor to come up with a diet and exercise regimen that fits your lifestyle and your health status. If you don’t have any of the comorbidities listed above associated with being overweight, then it’s possible that you can engage in a diet and exercise plan to lose weight and to no longer be overweight.
If you do have other health issues or injuries that make exercise a challenge and if you find that medications, genetics, or other factors are impeding your ability to lose weight and that are possibly causing you to gain weight, then you might qualify for a gastric balloon.
Gastric balloons are non-surgical implementations that will help you lose weight and reframe your dietary habits. Gastric balloons are only available to people with a BMI of 30 or higher. While you’ll ideally be able to resolve being overweight without major intervention, it’s wonderful that such options exist.
Finding out you’re overweight doesn’t have to be a negative. Finding out you’re overweight gives you the knowledge to do something about it, to change your life for the positive. Being overweight and obese have multiple negative health consequences. You deserve a happy, healthy life and a fit and able body. So, don’t hesitate to assess your current status to determine if you’re overweight. If you find that you care, contact a trusted healthcare professional and develop a plan for getting in a physical condition that elongates your life here.
Trying to find out how to know if you’re overweight can be scary; people don’t always want to know; however, if you find that you’re questioning if you’re overweight, you probably already know you want to get healthier, so be brave! If you find that you have a BMI of 27 or higher, contact us at Spatz Medical, and we’ll help you determine if a gastric balloon will help you go from being overweight to being just plain great.
