Are you overweight?

Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial disease with interplay of appetite regulation, energy metabolism & psychological factors. Hence, losing weight is not simple & requires a multi-prong approach.

Yet today many people persist in seeking simple cures to this complex health problem. They are easily lured by fad diets or pills that promise an instant path to thinness. Most end- up disappointed as within 12 months they put back on the weight that they had lost and some even more.

You do not need to lose weight if your weight is within the healthy range on the weight-for-height chart & are otherwise healthy.

If you are not overweight but health problems related to overweight run in your family, it is important that you keep your weight steady. If you have family members with weight-related health problems outlined earlier, you are more likely to develop them yourself.

Below is a chart to see if you are at a normal weight, overweight , or obese. Overweight is defined as a BMI of equal to or greater than 23; obesity is defined as a BMI equal to or greater than 27.5. This is the guideline issued by the Malaysian Academy for the Study of obesity. The cut-offs are lower than the WHO classification, which classified overweight and obesity at cut-offs of 25 and 30. This is because evidence from many Asian countries show that Asians develop diseases at lower BMIs. We also tend to have a higher body fat percent at similar BMI, compared with the Caucasian/European population.

CATEGORY	BMI	RESULTS
Normal weight	18.5-22.9	Good for you! Try not to gain weight.
Overweight	23-27.4	Do not gain any weight, especially if your waist measurement is high. You need to lose weight if you have risk factors for heart disease (smoke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes) or family members having heart disease or diabetes.
Obese	27.5 or greater	You need to lose weight. Lose weight slowly-about ½ pound to 2 pounds a week. See your doctor or dietitian for help.