Obesity has been classified as a disease. It is rapidly becoming a major cause of diabetes, heart related diseases and premature death. It is a predicament we cannot ignore.

[Excerpts taken from US and Canadian Stats.]
In the USA more that 123 million Americans are overweight. One out of every seven Canadians is considered obese and the number is on the increase.
Though we on the North American continent are not in an enviable position we are not alone. Governments and health agencies around the world are re-evaluating the relationship between body weight and health status. Health risk is associated with both underweight and overweight. There is increasing worldwide concern about what has been called the global epidemic of obesity.
The World Health Organization has predicted that obesity could have as great an impact on health as smoking. Heart disease, cancer, arthritis and type II diabetes have been linked to obesity. Experts say losing just 10 per cent of body weight can make a huge difference. [end excerpts]

It is a known fact that if you carry excess body weight you are at risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, pulmonary disease, diabetes, several varieties of cancer. If you are overweight or obese you are in a greater risk of early death.
There are several ways of measuring you fat content:

•  Submersion also called underwater weighing or hydrostatic weighing in which the body is weighed while completely submerged in water and the Archimedes Principle is applied. Basically the weight of the submerged body is compared to the weight of the water the body displaces. Up to this point this is the most accurate measurement of body fat percentage. It is, however, a cumbersome and somewhat uncomfortable test that requires specialized equipment.

•  Skin Fold Thickness test in which a special set of calipers measure the thickness of skin folds  to determine fat percentage. This method, when administered by skilled specialist is considered to be quite accurate (in the range of 98%).

• Bioelectric analyzers that measure the impedance to a low voltage currant that passes through the body and then calculate the percentage of body fat. These analyzers can be had quite inexpensively. Some give both the biometric impedance measure and the BMI measure. They work quite well if you follow instructions well. They come with criticisms. Inaccuracies may result due to differences between where you fat is carried, the placement of the sensors ( most are operated through the feet), and whether you are well hydrated or dehydrated. Whether or not they are accurate as to your exact percentage of fat, they should still be good for showing whether or not you are losing fat.

•  BMI Body Mass Index is, to this date, the most used and likely the one to be adopted by WHO (World Health Organization) is a method of estimating body fat percentage calculations using height and weight of an individual. This method is very simple requiring you to measure your height and your weight and carry out the prescribe calculation. The BMI works quite well for most of us but breaks down where very fit, heavily muscled athletes are involved

The calculations, one for pounds and inches, one for kilograms and meters are shown below; or you could use our calculator on the lower right side of the web page.

• Imperial calculation: BMI = (weight in pounds * 703) divided by height in inches
• Metric Calculation:    BMI = weight in kilograms divided by height in Meters2