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Ouch! Obese is the one word in a long list of descriptive terms that really cuts to the bone. Call me crazy, but when I say the word obese, the letter “o” always seems to automatically receive some additional emphasis. The word obese leaves my mouth as, “o-o-o-o-o-b-e-s-e.” Moreover, when the term obese is spoken by a physician it would seem that the size of one’s bodily girth is directly proportionate to the weight (no pun intended) placed upon the letter “o” in the word obese.

If you are moderately overweight the doctor will diminish the emphasis on the first the letter of the word and simply tell you that you are obese. Should you happen to be twenty to thirty pounds overweight you then become o-o-o-b-e-s-e. And if you are thirty to fifty pounds overweight you are o-o-o-o-o-o-b-e-s-e. Anything above a hundred pounds calls for an adjective to modify the word obese, because you couldn’t hold your breath long enough to say o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o….b-e-s-e. Trust me, I didn’t enjoy seeing the doctor write the words “morbidly obese” on my medical chart, but it was the truth!

There are several medically accepted criteria for defining morbid obesity. You are likely morbidly obese if you are:

• more than 100 lbs. over your ideal body weight, or
• have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 40, or
• have a Body Mass Index of over 35 and are experiencing severe negative health effects, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, related to being severely overweight
• unable to achieve a healthy body weight for a sustained period of time, even through medically supervised dieting

# posted by David @ 6:37 PM