BMI or body mass index is the standard formula used to determine whether someone is obese versus overweight. Divide your weight by the square of your height and you have your BMI. This is not the most accurate measure as you would need to visit a doctor for an accurate measure of your body mass but it is a good indicator of where you are.

It is important to understand the difference between being overweight and being obese. As a personal trainer it amazes me the number of people who cross the BMI of +30 threshold from overweight to obese. It is difficult to say to someone, “you are in the obese category” because it sounds so negative but the truth is the health risk is serious and so it is necessary to educate people on their actual condition without sugar coating it.

There are many reasons for the obese men, women and children in our society, as in many industrialized societies – the prevalence and amount of food available, the money to purchase what is desired and the sedentary lifestyles we live mainly attributed to our jobs. Medical illness and genetics certainly play a role in being obese and overweight but the numbers are small and they can be beat with diet and exercise most of the time. Genetics means you are predisposed to having a propensity to perhaps store more fat but it is not a sentence.

Doctors recommend anyone with a BMI over 30 should be counseled on diet and realistic goals should be set, medication should be prescribed if the weight loss is not achieved within a realistic period of time, and finally if the BMI is over 40, patients should consider more serious means such as bariatric surgery (stomach bypass).

There is a cure to obesity and it starts with education and proper nutrition at a young age. Let’s start with our schools and young people and get them to appreciate healthy eating instead of the cheaper, easier, faster options we are settling for now. In addition, we need to set the standards for physical activity. Children as well as adults must move and get their heart rate up to increase their metabolism and caloric expenditure. The cure although seems easy, requires a complete cultural shift which is a pain staking process requiring “buy in” from everyone beginning in the home and radiating outwards through the school system, businesses and the government.