Weight Concerns
Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau in Beyond Menopause, 2023
On the spectrum of disordered eating, obesity is a national crisis in the United States. The incidence of obesity has increased dramatically over the past 20 years such that it is now considered to be an epidemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity now affects more than one-third of adults, with two-thirds of the adult population either overweight or obese.5 Nearly two-thirds of women 40–59 years old and about three-fourths of women 60 and older are overweight, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 25 kg/m2. Furthermore, almost half of the women in these age groups are obese, meaning a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. BMI is a useful tool but far from a perfect measurement because it does not distinguish between body fat and muscle weight, and it does not indicate an individual’s overall health.
Ageing
Henry J. Woodford in Essential Geriatrics, 2022
Body mass index (BMI) is calculated by dividing the person's weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared (kg/m2). According to WHO criteria, those with a BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 are defined as underweight. Limitations of this assessment method include the presence of oedema or ascites, loss of height due to osteoporotic fractures and it doesn't account for recent weight loss (unless serial measurements are taken). If height cannot be attained (e.g. people who cannot stand), it can be estimated by measuring ulna length.35 The usefulness of anthropometrics, such as skin fold thickness, is unclear. The Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) aims to improve the sensitivity of the BMI by adding to it estimations of recent unintentional weight loss (over the past few months) and likelihood of poor oral intake in those who are acutely unwell over the coming five-day period (leading to a total score between zero and six).35 Serum albumin concentration has poor sensitivity and specificity to measure nutritional status.
Work stress induced weight gain in construction
Imriyas Kamardeen in Work Stress Induced Chronic Diseases in Construction, 2021
World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) defined overweight and obesity as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. It is commonly measured by body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight-to-height of a person, in which the weight in kilograms is divided by the square of the height (kg/m2). An individual with a BMI ≥ 25 is classified overweight whilst the one with a BMI ≥ 30 is considered obese. Ritchie and Roser (2019) claimed that 13% of adults in the world today are obese and another 39% are overweight. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2019) warned that overweight, particularly obesity, increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and certain cancers. Obesity is also a leading risk factor for early death; 4.7 million global deaths (8%) were linked to obesity in 2017 (Ritchie and Roser 2019).
COVID-19: quarantine, isolation, and lifestyle diseases
Published in Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2023
Heena Rehman, Md Iftekhar Ahmad
BMI (Body mass index) of a person reflects the health of a person. The BMI of a healthy person should range between 18.5 and 2.9. People falling below this range are said to be underweight and people falling above this range are overweight. People with having a BMI of more than 30 are considered obese. Since the people are not able to go to gyms during quarantine; they try to maintain their weight either by dieting, fasting, or using weight-reducing drugs (Hensrud 2001). These measures might result in losing too much weight and becoming underweight. There are several health risks of underweight such as loss of lean mass might affect their immune system (Chandra 2002), menstrual irregularities, infertility(Jokela et al. 2008), and osteoporosis (Bachrach-Lindström et al. 2000). Women might start to exercise anorexia nervosa to control their weight.
Why may patients with spinal cord injury be overlooked for obesity screening in the Veterans Health Administration? Qualitative research of the perspectives of patients and healthcare providers
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Andrea L. Nevedal, Justina Wu, Sherri L. LaVela, Alex H. S. Harris, Susan M. Frayne, Katherine D. Arnow, Nicolas B. Barreto, Kristen Davis, Dan Eisenberg
Similar to literature on limitations of BMI for obesity detection in the general population [41–43], participants in this study explained that weight and height measurements obtained may be inaccurate, which may lead to incorrect BMI values in the health records for individuals with SCI. Besides over-reliance on self-report, errors occurred for various reasons, including constraints on time, staffing, and equipment, as well as lack of knowledge or guidelines. Given complexities involved with measuring weight [44] and height for individuals with SCI, errors in BMI could be even more prevalent in this population. Therefore, we recommend developing strategies for improving height and weight measurement processes and documentation in medical records, and obtaining necessary resources to ensure more achievable and accurate BMI values for individuals with SCI. These may include training staff on obtaining and documenting weight and height more accurately, minimizing risk of errors due to turnover, and assessing patient comfort level with being measured to reduce possibility of inaccurate results (see additional details in Tables 5 and 6).
Associations between sleep, physical activity, and emotional well-being in emerging young adults: Implications for college wellness program development
Published in Journal of American College Health, 2022
Valery Bodziony, Barbara Stetson
This study used well-validated self-report measures that prove to be useful and practical, however results may be influenced by bias, errors in recall, and other individual participant factors. Additionally, there are limitations of using self-reported BMI as an individual-level indicator of physical health and physical functioning. However, BMI is a widely used biometric measure of weight status and health risk,53 and in future studies may be assessed alongside other measures of physical health and cardiovascular functioning. Additionally, BMI does not only indicate possible health risks of overweight and obesity, but also health risks associated with underweight, such as eating disorders.54 Direct forms of measurement, such as sleep diaries and motion trackers, can be used to provide more detail or capture data in real-time and complement the more indirect self-report measures. Capitalizing on the use of technology to collect data, such as individual wearable health fitness trackers, motion trackers, and cell-phone applications, which may offer more precision and accuracy in quantifying behaviors and can provide valuable information on individual differences. In addition to tracking health behaviors, such as physical activity, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) may be useful for tracking daily fluctuations in affective states, providing more detailed information on college students’ experiences of both positive and negative affect.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Body Weight
- Bone
- Muscle
- Obesity
- Overweight
- Stadiometer
- Underweight
- Body Weight
- Height
- Weighing Scale
- Fat