Introduction
Obesity and overweight are weight-related conditions, however, they can differ from one another. A doctor would often assess a patient’s Body Mass Index (BMI) if they are overweight or obese if they have greater body weight. The body mass index (BMI) divides people into two categories: overweight and obese. Four categories can be determined by the BMI: underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese. Aside from that, there are three subtypes of obesity: class 1, class 2, and class 3 Compared to people who are overweight, healthy weight, or underweight, those who are obese typically weigh more for their height.
In everyday speech, being overweight is equivalent to being obese. But the main distinction between being overweight and being obese is how much extra body fat has accumulated. Although being overweight is a risk factor, obesity is regarded as a disease since it can cause a wide range of long-term health problems.
Overweight Vs. Obese
Overweight and obesity are two examples of BMI categories. Obese people weigh more for their height than overweight people do. Even though neither classification specifically assesses body fat or body composition, those who are obese are more likely to be at risk for several illnesses, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other disorders. In comparison to both the underweight and obese classifications, an overweight BMI categorization was related to fewer excess deaths, according to a study that used data gathered between 1992 and 2002.
Body Mass Index (BMI), a measurement metric that is determined based on weight and height, is used to categorize a person as “overweight” or “obese.” BMI is an easy metric to use, and BMI calculators are easily available for phone download. According to World Health Organization (WHO), when a person’s BMI is greater than or equal to 25, they are considered overweight. Additionally, obesity is defined as having a BMI of 30 or higher. Patients who are obese, as opposed to those who are overweight, have a higher risk of acquiring co-morbid health issues and may require bariatric surgery to treat their obesity and related issues. The main factors that determine whether someone is overweight or obese are their calorie intake and expenditure. Due to its many contributing factors, obesity has been categorized as a disease.
Difference Between Overweight and Obese in Tabular Form
| Parameters of Comparison | Obese | Overweight |
| What is it? | A condition with a BMI (body mass index) of 30 or more that is characterized by an overly generalized deposition and storage of fat. | A state in which a person weighs more than is typical for someone of that height, age, and sex. |
| BMI range | A person is considered obese when their BMI is over 30. | A person is considered overweight when their BMI is between 25 and 29.9. |
| Risk factors | Coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypertension. | Depression, high blood pressure. |
| Causes | Increased consumption, fast food consumption, stress, depression, hormonal imbalance, and sedentary behavior. | Genetics, consuming more calories than the body can burn. |
| Remedies/ Treatment | Reduce calories, exercise, and in extreme cases surgery. | Exercise, reduced intake of food. |
| Geographically | More prominent and on the increase in North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia, and China. | All over the World. |
| In children | Around 5% of the 22 million overweight children under the age of 5 are clinically obese. | 22 million children under the age of 5 are overweight. |
| Occurrence | Obese affects more than 300 million people worldwide. | Globally, an estimated 1 billion people are considered overweight. |
What is Obese?
Obesity is a medical condition, occasionally referred to as a disease, in which excess body fat has built up to the point where it poses a threat to health. When a person’s body mass index (BMI), Which is calculated by dividing their weight by their height squared, is greater than 30, they are considered obese. Obesity is a significant contributor to disability and is linked to several illnesses and ailments, including osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.
Individual, socioeconomic, and environmental factors all contribute to obesity. Diet, physical activity, mechanization, urbanization, genetic predisposition, drugs, mental illnesses, economic policies, endocrine problems, and exposure to endocrine-disrupting substances are a few examples of recognized causes. While most obese people at any given time try to reduce weight and are sometimes successful, maintaining weight loss over the long term is uncommon. There isn't a successful, clearly defined, evidence-based intervention to stop obesity. A multifaceted strategy, involving interventions at the social, local, family, and individual levels, is needed to prevent obesity. The major treatments suggested by medical specialists include food changes and exercise. If these dietary options are available, inexpensive, and accessible, diet quality can be improved by reducing the consumption of energy-dense foods such as those high in fat or sweets and increasing the intake of dietary fiber. Medication can be used to suppress appetite or lessen fat absorption in combination with a healthy diet. A gastric balloon or surgery may be used to shrink the size of the stomach or the length of the intestines if diet, exercise, and medicine are ineffective. This results in a person feeling fuller sooner or having a harder time absorbing nutrients from food.
Obesity is a prominent global cause of death that is preventable, and both adults and children are becoming more and more obese. In 195 countries in 2015, there were 600 million obese adults (12%) and 100 million obese youngsters. Women are more likely than men to be obese. Most of the World now stigmatizes obesity. On the other hand, certain cultures—both ancient and modern—view obesity favorably, viewing it as a sign of prosperity and procreation. However, several medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Heart Association, defined obesity as a disease in 2013.
Effects on Health
Obesity raises a person’s risk of having several metabolic illnesses, cardiovascular problems, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and several cancers. Obesity is linked to a 2-20-year reduction in life expectancy, depending on the level of obesity and the prevalence of concomitant diseases. Diseases brought on by nutrition and physical activity are not directly caused by high BMI, although it is a sign of risk for them.
One of the biggest global preventable causes of death is obesity. The risk of numerous physical and mental disorders rises with obesity. The metabolic syndrome, a concoction of medical conditions that includes diabetes mellitus type 2, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels, is where these comorbidities are most frequently observed. Obesity either directly causes complications or indirectly contributes to them via factors like a bad diet or a sedentary lifestyle. The degree to which obesity and particular illnesses are related varies. There is a link between the amount of time spent watching television and the risk of obesity in both kids and adults. Childhood obesity rates rise proportionally to television viewing time as a result of increased media exposure.
What is Overweight?
Having more body fat than is ideal for health is referred to as being overweight or fat. Where food is readily available and lifestyles are sedentary, obesity is especially prevalent. Over 1 billion persons worldwide were either overweight or obese as of 2023, signaling an epidemic level of excess weight. This rose to more than 2 billion in 2013. All age groups have shown increases. A healthy body needs a minimum amount of fat for the immune, reproductive, and hormonal systems to function properly, for insulation and shock absorption in sensitive areas, and energy storage. However, too much storage fat can restrict movement and flexibility and change the way the body looks.
Classification
The body mass index typically indicates an individual’s level of overweight. Pre-obesity, defined as a BMI between 25 and 29.9, and obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or more, are both included in the definition of overweight, which is defined as having a BMI of 25 or higher. However, because pre-obese and overweight are sometimes used interchangeably, a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is commonly used to define overweight. However, there are several additional popular methods for determining how much fat or adiposity is present in a person's body.
- Body Mass Index
- Body Volume Index
- Simple Weighing
- Skinfold calipers or Pinch test
- Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
- Hydrostatic weighing
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
BMI is the most popular approach for talking about this topic and is mainly employed by advisory organizations and researchers. Depending on the ethnic group, certain things are deemed overweight. Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks with a BMI of 25 or higher are classified as overweight under the current definition put out by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). For Asians, a BMI of 23 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese for all demographics.
Health Effects
The medical profession accepts some of the harmful effects of obesity on health, but there is considerable debate over the effects of being overweight. According to a 2016 assessment, the risk of death rises by 7% for overweight adults with a BMI of 25 to 27.5 and by 20% for those with a BMI of 27.5 to 30. However, Katherine Flegal at aI. Showed that the mortality rate for people who are considered overweight (BMI 25 to 29.9) may be lower than for people who are considered to be at an “ideal” weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9). they noted that numerous studies suggest that the lowest mortality rate is at a BMI close to 25, noting that this is the range where the majority of deaths occur. Flegal has claimed that the findings from the 2016 review are biased toward predetermined ideas because the specific conclusions seem to depend on what other factors are controlled for.
Being overweight has been linked to an increased risk of developing cancer, and Walter Willett believes that as the number of instances of cancer linked to smoking declines, being overweight will overtake smoking as the main cause of cancer in industrialized nations. Men who are overweight are also more likely to get oligospermia and azoospermia. Due to social prejudice, the psychological well-being of the overweight person is also at stake.
The Main Difference Between Overweight and Obese in Points
- Being overweight involves carrying more body weight than is appropriate for one’s age or physical makeup. On the other hand, obesity is the state of having an excessive quantity of body fat with a BMI of greater than 30.
- Patients who are obese, as opposed to those who are overweight, have a higher risk of acquiring co-morbid health issues and may require bariatric surgery to treat their obesity and related issues.
- Over 1.9 billion persons worldwide, who are 18 years of age and older, are overweight. On the other hand, around 650 million persons worldwide suffer from obesity.
- When you are overweight, your weight is above the limit that is healthy for your height. On the other hand, obesity is an unnatural and excessive localized fact accumulation phenomenon that has a detrimental impact on human health.
- Obesity is defined as weight-for-height that is more than three standard deviations above the WHO Child Growth Standards median and on the other hand, is larger than two standard deviations above overweight.
Conclusion
BMI is used to distinguish between overweight and obesity; a BMI of 25 to less than 30 denotes overweight, whereas a BMI of 30 or more denotes obesity. Certain health issues are linked to being overweight or obese. Weight alone is not the main determinant of health, and not everyone with a high BMI is unwell. It is important to take into account additional health indicators, such as family history, lifestyle choices, and access to healthcare. Obesity and overweight are mostly preventable, as are the no communicable diseases that they are associated with. Healthy eating and regular exercise are the easiest choices to make (the options that are most accessible, available, and affordable), which prevent overweight and obesity. Supportive settings and communities are essential in influencing people's choices.
References
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity
- https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight#:~:text=For%20adults%2C%20WHO%20defines%20overweight,than%20or%20equal%20to%2030.
