Am I Fat, Overweight, or Obese?

When I was a kid, I was, according to my peers, fat. According to the school nurse, I was fat. According to my family, I was fat. According to everybody back then, I was fat. There was no such thing as overweight and obese. Well, there was, but I thought that saying "overweight" was just a more polite term to calling someone fat. And obese? I didn't know what that meant. Maybe it was just someone who was crazy fat.

Well, although more of a derogatory term, saying "fat" just simply means anybody who has more body fat than they should. Period. It's a generalized term used more by non-healthcare professionals who don't know the difference between overweight and obese.

The terms overweight and obese are used more for medical purposes, and there are actual tests to show which category you fall into. There are even tests you may do at home to determine what you are.

Now, does it matter whether you're overweight or obese? It does. The more fat you have, the more at risk you are for health problems. However, too much fat on you is not good period, whether you're considered overweight or obese. But knowing which category you fall into should alert you as to how urgently you need to address your problem. If you're simply overweight, that's a problem that needs to be dealt with. If you're obese, then you need to make changes immediately...as of yesteryear.

So, what is the difference? Well, there are two main tests we do to determine which category we're in. One is called the Body Mass Index (BMI) test. This is actually a simple, chart-based test that anybody could do. You take your weight and your height (by inches), and look at the chart to get your number. A number under 19 would be considered underweight. Numbers 19 to 24 is considered normal. Numbers 25 to 29 is overweight. Numbers 30 to 39 is obese. And over 40 is "extremely obese."

So, let's say that you're 5'9'' (69 inches) and weigh 162lbs. According to the BMI chart, your number would be 24, which is normal. If you weigh 169lbs, your number would be 25, which is considered overweight. If you weigh 203lbs, your number is 30, which is obese. If you weigh 270lbs, your number would be 40, thus extremely obese.
This test isn't 100% accurate, because it doesn't take into account those who work-out on a regular basis. Muscle is heavier than fat, so someone could build up 100lbs of muslce and weigh a lot on the scale. So a person who is 5'9'' who is 300 pounds and has very little body fat is most likely a hulk, but on the BMI chart, he'll be considered extremely obese.

Another test that is more accurate is a Bioelectrical Impedance test. With this test, you have electrodes attached to you, almost as if having an EKG test done. Electrical currents are sent throughout your body to measure the amount of resistance the currents have to go through. Fat has a lot of resistance because it has so little water. Muscles, on the other hand, are very high in water, so they give less resistance to electrical currents. So the more electrical resistance, the more fat you have. This test measures the amount of fat you have and it gives you a percentage.

This test is a bit scarier than the BMI, because it gives you the exact percentage of body fat you have. For men, a healthy body fat percentage ranges from 8 to 20 percent. For women, it ranges from 21 to 33 percent since women naturally carry more fat than men. Over 25 percent on men is considered "dangerously unhealthy." Over 38 percent in women is dangerously unhealthy.

Many people find themselves with 50 percent body fat! This literally means that HALF of you is fat. But don't feel too bad, because there are others who are well over that percentage!

Imagine taking a bioelectrical impedance test and seeing that your body fat percentage is off the chart. Pretty scary, isn't it? However, the good news is that those numbers can change for the better. It's up to you to make that change.

What if you don't have access to either a BMI or an impedance test? Well, then do a visual test. Look at yourself in the mirror either naked or clothed, it really doesn't matter. If your first thought is, "Hmm, I could lose a few pounds," then you're most likely just overweight. However, if you're first thought is, "How could this ever happen??" and you start to cry, then you're most likely obese.