Learn more about
Weight Loss and Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition and it is associated with significant health risk including diabetes, hypertension, pain, cancer and other diseases. Obesity is a result of both genetics and environmental causes. That means, while you may have a genetic tendency or predisposition to become overweight, our environment and culture (easy access to quick foods, large portions, no time for exercise, etc) make it that much easier for weight gain to occur.
While obesity alone is not a psychiatric illness, many patients who are obese experience psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, binge eating, pain, and other diseases and disorders. In fact, our Director, Dr.Shaprio conducted the first weight loss study on women with Fibromyalgia and found that weight loss reduced Fibromyalgia pain.
Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI)
Obesity is measured by body mass index or BMI (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared).
- Enter your weight and height using Standard or Metric measures.
- Select “Compute BMI” and your BMI will appear below.
Standard
Metric
| BMI Categories | BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can occur with more body fat. The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems and certain cancers. | |
| < 18.5 | Underweight | |
| 18.5 – 24.9 | Healthy weight | |
| 25.0 – 29.9 | Overweight | |
| 30.0 – 39.9 | Obese | |
| 40.0 + | Extreme obese | |
Body Mass Index for Children and Teens
For children and teens, age and sex is considered in the BMI equation to come up with a BMI-for-age percentile. These percentiles express a child’s BMI relative to other children in the US. More information can be found here.