January 29, 2010 Normal Weight Obesity: Why Losing Weight Is Not
Always the Answer Weight loss is one of the most common
recommendations that doctors make. How do we know if a patient
should lose weight? We usually use the Body Mass Index (BMI)
which is a way to compare a patient’s weight to her height. (For
all you math geeks, it’s the weight in kilograms divided by the
height in meters squared. For all you physicists, I know the
units make no sense.) A BMI of 18.5 to 25 is considered normal.
A BMI of 25 to 30 is considered overweight, and over 30 is
considered obese. (See the link below to calculate your BMI.) An
article in the health section of Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal
reminds us that BMI may not be telling us the whole story. The
article cites a study published in the European Heart Journal
last year which followed over 6,000 adults with a normal BMI.
They all had their body fat percentage measured and were
followed for about 9 years. Surprisingly, even in these adults
with a “normal” weight, those w