Obesity

The so-called Pickwickian syndrome is a combined syndrome of obesity-related hypoventilation and sleep apnea. It is named after Charles Dickens’s novel The Pickwick Papers, which contains an obese character who falls asleep constantly during the day. The hypoventilation in Pickwickian syndrome results from severe mechanical respiratory limitations to chest excursion, caused by severe obesity. Sleep […] Read More

Apart from the metabolic complications associated with obesity, a paradigm of increased intra-abdominal pressure has been recognized. This pressure effect is most apparent in the setting of marked obesity (BMI ≥ 50 kg/m2) and is espoused by bariatric surgeons. Findings from bariatric surgery and animal models suggest that this pressure elevation may play a role […] Read More

An elevated BMI during adolescence (starting within the range currently considered normal) is strongly associated with the risk of developing obesity-related disorders later in life, independent of adult BMI. Increases in BMI during early adulthood (age 25-40) are associated with a worse profile of biomarkers related to obesity than the profile of biomarkers of BMI […] Read More

The surgical literature often uses a different classification to recognize particularly severe obesity. The categories are as follows: Severe obesity – BMI greater than 40 kg/m2; Morbid obesity – BMI of 40-50 kg/m2; Super obese – BMI greater than 50 kg/m2. Read More

Dual-energy radiographic absorptiometry (DXA) scanning is used primarily by researchers to accurately measure body composition, particularly fat mass and fat-free mass. It has the additional advantage of measuring regional fat distribution. However, DXA scans cannot be used to distinguish between subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat deposits. Read More

Other indices used to estimate the degree and distribution of obesity include the 4 standard skin thicknesses (i.e., subscapular, triceps, biceps, suprailiac) and various anthropometric measures, of which waist and hip circumferences are the most important. Skinfold measurements are the least accurate means by which to assess obesity. Read More

Although the BMI typically correlates closely with percentage body fat in a curvilinear fashion, some important caveats apply to its interpretation. In mesomorphic (muscular) persons, BMIs that usually indicate overweight or mild obesity may be spurious, whereas, in some persons with sarcopenia (elderly individuals and persons of Asian descent, particularly from South Asia), a typically […] Read More

The body mass index (BMI), also known as the Quetelet index, is used far more commonly than the body fat percentage to define obesity. In general, BMI correlates closely with the degree of body fat in most settings; however, this correlation is weaker at low BMIs. An individual’s BMI is calculated as weight/height2, with weight […] Read More

Obesity represents a state of excess storage of body fat. Although similar, the term overweight is defined as an excess of body weight for height. Normal, healthy men have a body fat percentage of 15-20%, while normal, healthy women have a percentage of approximately 25-30%. However, because differences in weight among individuals are only partly […] Read More

The annual cost of managing obesity in the United States alone amounts to approximately $190.2 billion per year, or 20.6% of national health expenditures, according to a study.  Compared with a non-obese person, an obese person incurs $2741 more in medical costs (in 2005 dollars) annually. In addition, the annual cost of lost productivity due […] Read More