Overweight? Obese? Check these indicators to see how much you are overweight

September 2023 is the National Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Month, and the theme of the event is: "Three Reductions and Three Healths" Start with Me. "Three Reductions" refers to reducing salt, oil, and sugar, and "Three Healths" refers to healthy oral cavity, healthy weight, and healthy bones.

Nowadays, obesity has become one of the killers that endanger human health. According to the data from the World Health Organization, overweight and obesity are the sixth leading cause of death in the world, with at least 3.4 million people dying from overweight or obesity every year.

Obesity can lead to a variety of physical and psychological diseases, seriously affecting physical health, so scientific weight loss is imperative. So how do you determine whether you are obese? Take a look at these indicators to see how many of them you are "overweight" -

1. Measure your BMI

The World Health Organization uses the body mass index (BMI) as the standard for judging obesity and overweight. The BMI index can be used as a common simple indicator for judging obesity:

BMI values ​​greater than or equal to 28kg/m² can be diagnosed as obesity;

A BMI value between 24kg/m² and 28kg/m² is considered overweight;

A BMI value between 18.5kg/m² and 24kg/m² is considered normal weight.

In addition, it can also be judged by body fat percentage, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, etc.

2. Measure your body fat percentage

Body fat percentage refers to the proportion of body fat weight in the total body weight, also known as body fat percentage, which reflects the amount of fat in the human body.

The normal range of body fat percentage for adults is 20%-30% for women and 12%-20% for men. The body fat percentage of athletes varies depending on the sport, with male athletes generally ranging from 7%-15% and female athletes ranging from 12%-25%.

Losing weight also means losing fat and reducing body fat percentage. If the body fat percentage of men is higher than 25% and that of women is higher than 35%, it is considered obesity, which will affect the body shape and health. If the body fat is excessive, the body fat percentage is 32% or even higher than 35%, which can be considered as more serious obesity. Obesity increases the risk of various diseases, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, etc.

Health Tips: Fat has a protective effect on our body organs. Too low a body fat percentage will disrupt the body's normal metabolism.

3. Measure your waistline

What really harms your health is the fat in your abdominal cavity. The main reference indicator is the waist circumference. The normal recommended waist circumference for men is 85 cm, 2.6 feet; the normal waist circumference for women should be controlled at 80 cm, 2.4 feet. Excessive waist circumference means that you may have abdominal obesity, which increases the risk of obesity-related diseases.

4. Measure your waist-to-hip ratio

As the name suggests, waist-to-hip ratio is the ratio between waist circumference and hip circumference, which is closely related to health. The measurement method is also very simple: just divide waist circumference by hip circumference. The normal waist-to-hip ratio for men should be between 0.85-0.9, and for women should be between 0.75-0.8. A high waist-to-hip ratio not only makes the body look ugly, but also significantly increases the risk of diseases such as diabetes.

According to the data, people with a high waist-to-hip ratio have a higher risk of diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease and other heart diseases. Studies show that for every 0.1 increase in waist-to-hip ratio, the risk of premature death increases by 34% for men and 23% for women. Because a large waist-to-hip ratio means a backlog of abdominal fat. The fat accumulated around the waist causes insulin resistance and induces diabetes, and on the other hand, it causes the fat to spread into the blood and cause cardiovascular disease.

Healthy Weight Management Tips

Weight management is a comprehensive process involving diet, exercise, psychology and other aspects. To effectively manage weight, you need to make a reasonable plan.

■ Set a goal. Determine a reasonable weight loss goal, such as how many kilograms to lose or how much body fat percentage to reduce;

■ Eat a balanced diet. Make sure you consume enough protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats every day, and avoid high-sugar, high-fat and processed foods;

■ Exercise moderately. Perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, such as brisk walking, swimming or cycling;

■ Maintain a regular work and rest schedule. Ensure adequate sleep and try to avoid staying up late or overworking;

■ Maintain a positive attitude. Weight management is a long-term process. Be patient and confident, and don’t be too hard on yourself.

When choosing a weight loss method, you can lose weight through diet adjustments, exercise, etc.

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