What is it called if you are fatter than overweight?

Answer 1

The first level of being overweight is just termed "overweight" or "pre-obese". It corresponds to a BMI of about 25 to 30 or roughly 25 to 30 pounds overweight. The next level is Obese.

Obesity has been more precisely defined by the National Institutes of Health (the NIH) as a BMI of 30 and above. (A BMI of 30 is about 30 pounds overweight.)

As published by the World Health Organization:

BMI______Classification

< 18.5_____underweight

18.5-24.9 __normal weight

25.0-29.9 __overweight

30.0-34.9 __class I obesity

35.0-39.9 __class II obesity

> 40 ______class III obesity

Some modifications to the WHO definitions have been made by particular bodies. The surgical literature breaks down "class III" obesity into further categories whose exact values are still disputed.

• Any BMI ≥ 35 or 40 is severe obesity
• A BMI of ≥ 35 or 40-44.9 or 49.9 is morbid obesity
• A BMI of ≥ 45 or 50 is super obesity

As Asian populations develop negative health consequences at a lower BMI than Caucasians, some nations have redefined obesity; the Japanese have defined obesity as any BMI greater than 25 while China uses a BMI of greater than 28.