JOE FRANCO
PERSONAL TRAINER
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OBESITY
In a report dated June 4, 1998 it was reported by Reuters that about 55% of the adult American population, or 97 million people, are either overweight or obese, according to the first federal guidelines for the treatment for weight loss and obesity released Wednesday by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). According to the report, a combination of factors should be used to determine if an individual is overweight, including body mass index (a measure of weight in relation to height), waist circumference, and a patient's risk factors for diseases and conditions associated with obesity. The guidelines define overweight as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 and obesity as a body mass index of 30 or more, which is consistent with the official guidelines of many other countries, according to a statement issued by the NHLBI. Body mass index is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms (multiply weight in pounds by 0.454) by the square of height in meters (multiply height in inches by 0.0254). A body mass index of 30 is equal to approximately 30 pounds overweight. For example, a body mass index of 30 is equivalent to a person 6-feet tall weighing 221 pounds.
The panel that drafted the guidelines recommended that all adults have their body mass index determined and that people of normal weight should have their body mass index reassessed in 2 years. People who are overweight but do not have other risk factors should work to maintain their current weight or prevent further weight gain, the panel recommends. The risk factors include elevations in blood pressure or family history of obesity-related disease. The NHLBI estimates that obesity-related disease costs the US about $100 billion each year. The institute stressed that the ...most successful strategies for weight loss include calorie reduction, increased physical activity, and behavior therapy designed to improve eating and physical activity habits." The National Center for Health Statistics had previously defined overweight as a body mass index of 28 for men and 27 for women, while federal dietary guidelines in 1996 defined healthy weight as a body mass index of 25 or below for men and women. According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 35% of American adults were considered overweight by its guidelines, compared with around 26% in 1980. The guidelines were developed by a 24-member panel chaired by Dr. F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, director of the Obesity Research Center at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. Currently under review by 115 health experts from major medical and professional societies, the guidelines are scheduled to be issued to the public on June 17.
We felt that the record was clear and the risk was there," Pi-Sunyer told The Washington Post. "We felt that we owed it to physicians and their patients to alert them to this fact, although it doesn't mean that everyone needs to go on a diet." However, some public health experts criticized the new guidelines as too complicated and possibly beneficial to pharmaceutical companies. Barbara Moore, president of Shape Up America!, a nonprofit organization founded by former US Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, told The Wall Street Journal, "I don't believe the science is there to support this change at this time. The drug companies benefit from having 25 or 26 defined as overweight," as physicians may prescribe more drugs for overweight patients.
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