A person can determine if he or she is obese by using the BMI index.
BMI, also known as Body Mass Index, is a number obtained by dividing the number of kilograms of the body by the square of the height.
The normal range of BMI for Chinese adults is between 18.5 and 23.9, if the BMI is lower than 18.5, it is considered to be underweight, BMI reaches between 24 and 27 is overweight, if the BMI is more than 28, it is obese, and when the BMI is more than 32, it is severe obesity.
In addition, BMI is an indirect reference index to understand the body fat, affected by other factors such as muscle, bone mass, the accuracy is relatively poor, the more accurate indicator is actually the body fat percentage. The determination of body fat percentage generally needs to be carried out in specialized institutions using professional instruments.
Generally speaking, a body fat percentage between 20%-25% for adult women and 15%-18% for men is more reasonable. Above the upper limit of this range, it is necessary to consider high body fat, that is, overweight.
Excessive body fat (obesity) is very detrimental to health and is a risk factor for many diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and hypertension, diabetes and other diseases. Therefore, weight and body fat percentage should be actively controlled.