According to the clinical guidelines published in 1998 by the National Institutes of Health, you may simultaneously be overweight and healthy. If your waist measurement is less than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men, and if you do not have two or more chronic conditions (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes), you are classified as healthy even if you are overweight.
According to the recommendations, overweight persons should not put on more weight and should shed a few pounds. Smoking and other risk factors have an impact on health too.
Concept of Overweight, Obesity, and Fit
The concept of a healthy and ideal weight varies from person to person. Being overweight increases your chances of developing obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and strokes; you may be overweight and still be healthy, particularly if you don’t have any chronic conditions, including diabetes or hypertension. Moreover, It is crucial to remember that several studies have linked obesity to worse health outcomes and lower life spans, mainly if your waist size is more than 39 inches for men and 34 inches for women.
Moreover, the phrase may be confusing as someone may be healthy now but cannot be healthy in the future due to obesity.
People who are obese for five years or more with none of the three risk factors (high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol) have a 49% increased risk of heart disease, a 7% increased risk of stroke, and a 96% increased chance of heart failure.
BMI and the Idea of Healthy Weight
The BMI range is helpful, but a better technique is examining body fat percentage. Although it is not a common practice, calculating body fat percentage may also give us a general picture of your weight status without the potential for misinterpretation between muscle and fat weight. Body fat between 26 and 31% is often regarded as standard. When body fat reaches 31% or more, it is considered above average, and patients are advised to work hard to decrease fat mass.
What is the best way to measure health?
Based on suggestions, experts believe it is possible to live with being overweight yet still be fit and healthy; this does not imply that weight does not affect the complex nature of some chronic illnesses. A study on African Americans concluded that obesity is linked to chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even some forms of cancer. Those ailments may not always be caused by weight; but increased weight may be an indication. The difficulty emerges when weight reduction is used as the primary treatment when other factors are at play, and body weight becomes the main focus.
Medicines for Weight Loss
Four drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for long-term weight loss use:
- Contrave (bupropion-naltrexone)
- Liraglutide
- Orlistat
- Phentermine-topiramate
The majority of prescription weight loss medications work by reducing appetite or enhancing feelings of fullness. Some drugs can do both. Orlistat is an exception. It works by preventing the absorption of fat.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized most obesity management drugs for adult use only, but it has also approved two prescription drugs, orlistat, and liraglutide, for use by children aged 12 and older. The FDA has also authorized setmelanotide, a third prescription drug, for use by obese children aged six and older who have unique genetic diseases.