Obesity is among the most prevalent and serious health conditions of the modern age. According to the World Health Organization, over a billion people around the world are overweight. Of those, 330 million are clinically obese. The products of our modern diets and sedentary lifestyles, overweight refers to excess body weight (all tissues), while obesity refer to excess body fat.

Health Risks Associated with Obesity

Far from just affecting the way your clothes fit, overweight and obesity are harmful to your inner health. Overweight and obesity are major risk factors for a host of serious health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. They can also make existing problems worse. For instance, for arthritis sufferers, excess weight places greater stress on already weak joints.

How Obesity is Diagnosed

One of the most simple and useful tools for diagnosing overweight and obesity is the Body Mass Index, or BMI. A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 indicates overweight, while a BMI of 30.0 to 39.9 indicates obesity. A BMI of 40.0 ore more indicates extreme obesity. You should note that these are only average guidelines. Since muscle weighs more than fat, athletes and others with greater lean muscle mass can appear to have high BMI, even though they obviously are not overweight or obese. Conversely, people whose muscle mass is too low can appear to have a healthy BMI. For similar reasons, your bathroom scale isn't the best indicator, since it only measures your total weight and not the amount of fat versus lean muscle.

Reaching a Healthy BMI

By lowering your BMI, you'll reduce your risk of overweight/obesity-related illness. A loss of just 10 percent of your body weight can reduce your risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke considerably.

Overweight and obesity don't happen overnight—they're the result of years of unhealthy eating habits combined with physical inactivity. Most diets fail because they don't take into account a person's habits and lifestyle. For long-term health, you should:

• Eat a healthier diet. Increasing the amount of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and fish in your diet will not only reduce your intake of fat and cholesterol, it will also provide important vitamins and minerals necessary for optimal health.
• Get moving. Just 30 minutes of exercise a day will help you lose fat, increase muscle, and improve your circulation. Even low-intensity activities such as taking the stairs or gardening can deliver healthy benefits.
• Supplement your diet. Quality supplements and meal replacements can provide key nutrients—in doses not available through diet alone.

If you're concerned about the health risks associated with your weight, talk to your healthcare provider. Together you can come up with a therapeutic lifestyle change program that will put you back on the road to optimal health.