What is obesity and overweight?

If you want to lose weight, eating a healthy diet and being more active can help. Changing how you think and finding support also can help. You may want to work with your doctor to make a weight-loss plan that's right for you.

Obesity can raise your risk for certain health problems. These may include type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke. If you have healthier habits or lose weight, you can lower your risk for these conditions.

The best way to lose weight is to eat less and move more. Little steps mean a lot. Losing just 10% of your body weight can make a difference in your health.

You'll have the most success if you make a long-term plan with your doctor. Your first goal will likely be to improve your health, not to reach an ideal weight.

Some people take medicines or have surgery to help them lose weight. Your doctor may also suggest counseling. If you use food to cope with depression, loneliness, anxiety, or boredom, you can learn new skills to deal with those feelings.

You might want to try weight-loss medicines or have weight-loss surgery if:

• You do not lose weight after you have tried healthy eating and more activity for 6 months.
• You keep gaining weight.
• You have lost weight several times only to regain it.
• Your doctor is concerned about a health problem related to obesity, such as heart disease or diabetes.

Lifestyle changes

Most people have more success when they make small changes, one step at a time. For example, you might eat an extra piece of fruit or add more vegetables to your meals.

One of the best ways to increase your activity is by walking.

Medicines

Medicine may help you lose a small amount of weight. But without permanent changes in eating and exercise habits, most people gain weight again after they stop taking the medicine.

Surgery

After surgery, you will need to make big, lifelong changes in how you eat, including smaller portions and different foods.

To know if your weight is in the obesity range, your doctor looks at your body mass index (BMI) and waist size.

BMI is a number that is calculated from your weight and your height. To figure out your BMI for yourself, you can use an online tool, such as http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm on the National Institutes of Health website.

If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obesity range. Keep in mind that BMI and waist size are only guides. They are not tools to determine your ideal body weight.

Focus on small changes for your health and well-being. Eat a variety of healthy foods. Eat slowly, and pay attention to how hungry or full you feel. Make physical activity a part of your daily life. If you haven't been active, start slowly. Get support from family, friends, your doctor, and other health professionals.

Genes determine what features (genetic traits) you inherit from your parents. They influence your weight by their effect on:

How your body uses calories (energy metabolism).

Some people need fewer calories to fuel their bodies. They may have "leftover" calories that are stored as fat. Other people need more calories to fuel their bodies. They have fewer leftover calories to store as fat.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR).

BMR is how much energy you burn when you're at rest. If you have a lower BMR, it's easier to gain weight.

Body signals.

Hunger, fullness (satiety), and appetite are body signals that tell you how much to eat.

Set point.

Your body may try to keep your weight within a specific range, or set point.

Fat distribution.

Men tend to store fat in the belly, while women store more in the hips and thighs. As women age, more fat is stored in the belly.

Obesity means having an unhealthy amount of body fat. This puts your health in danger. It can lead to other health problems, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

When you take in more calories than you burn off, you gain weight. How you eat, how active you are, and other things affect how your body uses calories and whether you gain weight.

If you have family members who have too much body fat, you may have inherited a tendency to gain weight. And your family also helps form your eating and lifestyle habits, which can lead to obesity.

Also, our busy lives make it harder to plan and cook healthy meals. For many of us, it's easier to reach for prepared foods, go out to eat, or go to the drive-through. But these foods are often high in saturated fat and calories. Portions are often too large.

Focus on health, not diets. Diets are hard to stay on and don't work in the long run. It is very hard to stay with a diet that includes lots of big changes in your eating habits.

Instead of a diet, focus on lifestyle changes that will improve your health and achieve the right balance of energy and calories. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. You can do it by eating healthy foods in reasonable amounts and becoming more active, even a little bit every day. Making small changes over time can add up to a lot.

Make a plan for change. Many people have found that naming their reasons for change and staying focused on their plan can make a big difference. Work with your doctor to create a plan that is right for you.

• Ask yourself: "What are my personal, most powerful reasons for wanting this change? What will my life look like when I've made the change?"
• Set your long-term goal. Make it specific, such as "I will lose x pounds."
• Break your long-term goal into smaller, short-term goals. Make these small steps specific and within your reach, things you know you can do. These steps are what keep you going from day to day.

Talk with your doctor about other weight-loss options. If you have a BMI in a certain range and have not been able to lose weight with diet and exercise, medicine or surgery may be an option for you. Before your doctor will prescribe medicines or surgery, he or she will probably want you to be more active and follow your healthy eating plan for a period of time. These habits are key lifelong changes for managing your weight, with or without other medical treatment. And these changes can help you avoid weight-related health problems.