Defining Obesity - KFF Health News

Researchers use an estimate of an individual’s relative fat and muscle mass, called body mass index, to define obesity. To find your BMI, check out this calculator.

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Adults with a BMI of between 25 and 30 are considered overweight. Those with a BMI over 30 are obese.

Morbid obesity applies to adults with a BMI over 40 or who are more than 100 pounds overweight.

Source: The National Library of Medicine.

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<h1>Defining Obesity</h1>
<div>		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2010-09-21T00:30:15-04:00">
			September 21, 2010		</time>
		</div>
<p>Researchers use an estimate of an individual’s relative fat and muscle mass, called body mass index, to define obesity. To find your BMI, check out this <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/fitness-nutrition/bmicalculator.html">calculator</a>.</p><h3>Related KHN Story</h3><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/legacy/35AC7A9F-0FB3-4562-853E-90FD0D49555A">Few Insurers Provide Coverage For Weight Loss Treatment</a></p><p>Adults with a BMI of between 25 and 30 are considered overweight. Those with a BMI over 30 are obese.</p><p>Morbid obesity applies to adults with a BMI over 40 or who are more than 100 pounds overweight.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007297.htm">The National Library of Medicine</a>.</p><ul><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/?share=x">				Click to share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/?share=facebook">				Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/?share=linkedin">				Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20Defining%20Obesity&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMzA2Nzc&share=email">				Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/#print?share=print">				Click to print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us">KFF</a>.</em><p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to KFF Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/obesity-sidebar/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://kffhealthnews.org">KFF Health News</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://kffhealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://kffhealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=30677&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p>

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