Helping You Succeed

Body Mass Index (BMI) is simply a ratio of weight to height. It is used as a tool to risk stratify patients based upon body habitus. It assumes a "typical" body composition, so it is less reliable in individuals with atypical body compositions such as elite athletes with high muscle to fat ratios. In these cases, BMI will overestimate "overweight" and "obesity". It is also less reliable in cases of reduced muscle mass such as the elderly in which case it will underestimate "overweight" and "obesity". Most clinical studies utilize BMI to establish useful correlations between weight and health risks. However BMI must always be used in conjunction with other individualized factors to determine overall risk.

The CDC recommends that adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, or an equivalence combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Approximately 35.5% of adults do not engage in recommended levels of physical activity for health benefits and 25.4% of adults report no leisure time activity.

According to the CDC, prior to 1990, no state in the US had greater than 15% obesity. By 2009, only one state (Colorado) along with District of Columbia were less than 20% obesity. The overall prevalence of obesity in the US is 36.5%.