Impairment of Health and Quality of Life Using New US Federal Guidelines for the Identification of Obesity

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Abstract
HEALTH SERVICE burdens are aggravated by overweight and adverse fat distribution through clusters of symptoms, risk factors, and associated secondary diseases including coronary heart disease, strokes, non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), and several cancers.1-4 However, estimating total burdens of disease in populations and the financial costs associated with overweight has been hampered by a lack of consistent published data using the standardized body mass index (BMI or the Quetelet index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters: weight (kg)/{height·(m)}2) cutoff points on which the diagnoses of overweight and obesity are based, and by poorly standardized reference populations.