There are a number of sophisticated methods for determining if someone’s weight is normal, or if they are overweight or obese, but there are two simple tools that are used to estimate if a person has weight problems. The tools that can be used are the BMI (Basic Metabolic Index), and the waist to hip ratio.

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BMI
To work out your BMI you need to divide your weight in kg by your height in meters squared. Now this is not as complicated as it sounds. For example if you are 1.65 m tall and weigh 85 kg, then you would use the following formula to calculate your BMI:
weight / height squared = 85/1.65 x1.65 = 85/2.72 = 31,25

So if you weigh 85 kg and are 1.65 m tall, your BMI = 31,25

If your BMI is lower than 18 then you are underweight and may also be experiencing problems such as anorexia, bulimia or an eating disorder.

If your BMI is between 18 and 25 then your weight is normal and you don’t need to go on drastic diets, but you should try and maintain your weight at this level to prevent weight gain.

If your BMI is between 25 and 30 you are overweight and need to try and remedy the situation.

If your BMI is greater than 30 then you are obese and need to immediately do something to reduce your weight.

Waist to hip ratio
Another simple tool for determining if you are overweight is to measure your waist and your hip circumferences and then compare the two measurements to each other by dividing the waist measurement by the hip measurement.

For example, if your waist measurement is 110 cm and your hip measurement is 120 cm, then you will have a waist-to-hip ratio of 110/120 = 0.92. For men a waist-to-hip ratio exceeding 1.0 indicates obesity. For women a waist-to-hip ratio exceeding 0.85 indicates obesity.

If you are female and found that your BMI exceeds 30 and your waist-to-hip ratio is for example greater than 0.85, then you have proof that you are obese and that you urgently need to do something about your weight.

Obesity factors
There are a number of factors that make individuals more prone to gaining weight and developing obesity.

• Socio-economic status: ironically people living in western countries with a higher level of income and education are less exposed to the risk of obesity and more inclined to do something about their weight, than the poorer classes who are at great risk.
• Urbanisation and westernisation: In rural, agricultural communities obesity is not common because such populations tend to eat low-fat diets based on unrefined cereals and do a great deal of physical work. When these people move to towns and start eating a western high-fat diet and expend less energy, their risk of developing obesity is high. South Africans are facing an explosion in obesity because such a large segment of our population is rapidly moving to the cities and adopting western eating habits.
• Cultural practices and advertising play an important role in making people regard foods as desirable even if they are ‘fatal’ for weight gain. Family practices are also often to blame when parents use food as a reward or pacifier.
• Genetics can be responsible for 50-60% of the variation in an individual’s amount of abdominal fat. Obesity is known to run in families and if you have one or more obese parents or grandparents then your chance of developing obesity is very great.
• Individual susceptibility is also a factor and there is scientific evidence that certain individuals are less able to burn fat which predisposes them to obesity.
• Modern transport and labour-saving devices such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners make our lives easier, but prevent us from using up energy and contribute to weight gain.

All these factors play a role in making modern men and women gain weight and run the risk of developing obesity. Some factors can’t be changed, but there are others that we can alter. - Dr I.V. van Heerden, registered dietician.
 

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