What is obesity?

What is obesity?

Obesity is a medical diagnosis that describes a condition where you weigh 20% more than the maximum you should for your age and gender. Obesity is a risk for getting diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Obese kids are more likely to be obese adults.

For instance, if you are 10-year old girl 54 1/2 inches tall, you should weigh between 56 to 96 pounds. If you weigh more than 96 pounds, you would be heavy for age. If you weighed more than 115 pounds, you would be obese.

If you were a 10-year old boy 54 inches tall, you should weigh between 56 to 89 pounds. If you weigh more than 89 pounds, you would be heavy for age. If you weighed more than 107 pounds, you would be obese.

Boys and girls grow at different rates and so weight to height comparisons are different.