Definition of Overweight and Obesity

A person’s gender, height and weight determine his or her Body Mass Index, or BMI, which is then used to determine if that person is overweight.  (For children and teens, age is also a factor in determining BMI.)

BMI of 85 – 95%: Adults in this range are considered “overweight”; in the U.S. children in this range are considered “at risk for being overweight” while outside the U.S. they are also considered “overweight.”  For clarity, Wellspring refers to individuals in this category, regardless of age, as “overweight”.

BMI of 95% and above: Adults in this category are “obese”; in the U.S. children are termed “overweight” while outside the U.S. they are also considered “obese”. For clarity, Wellspring refers to individuals in this category, regardless of age, as “obese”.

Statistics on Overweight and Obesity

Approximately 119 million Americans, or 64.5%, of adult Americans are either overweight or obese. 25% of American adults are obese.

Approximately ten million, or 31%, of American children ages 10 -17 are overweight or obese.

More than 16% of children ages 6 – 19 are obese, an increase of 50% since the 1990s.
Since 1970, the prevalence of obesity among adolescents ages 12 to 19 in the United
States has more than doubled; it has almost tripled for children ages 6 to 11.
90% of overweight or obese adolescents will become obese adults, according to a recent study.

Health Issues and Cost of Obesity

Children who are overweight are at heightened risk for poor health outcomes, including the following:

• High cholesterol and high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem.
• Becoming overweight or obese adults, and therefore being at higher risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and several types of cancer.

One study determined that only 36.7% of overweight children and teens ages 2-19 years had been told by a doctor or other health-care professional that they were overweight.