Diagnosis of Obesity

by Cynthia M. Johnson, MA

Main Page

Risk Factors

Symptoms

Diagnosis

Treatment

Screening

Reducing Your Risk

Talking to Your Doctor

Resource Guide

The doctor will ask about your symptoms and health history. A physical exam will be done. Your weight and height will be measured.

Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or greater in an adult. BMI is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters. Morbid obesity is a BMI that is higher than 40.

Since children are still growing, BMI is a percentile of a child's weight and height when compared to other children who are their gender and age. Obesity in children is a BMI in the 95th percentile or higher. Severe obesity is when it is in the120th percentile or higher.

Obesity can also be diagnosed by measuring a person's waist. Having a large waist can raise the risk of health problems even if a person's total weight is not high.

REFERENCES:

Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline on pharmacological management of obesity can be found in J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2015 Feb;100(2):342.

Obesity in adults. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/obesity-in-adults. Updated November 30, 2018. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Obesity in children and adolescents. EBSCO DynaMed website.https://www.dynamed.com/condition/obesity-in-children-and-adolescents. Updated October 30, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Obesity. Merck Manual Professional Version website. Available at: http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/nutritional-disorders/obesity-and-the-metabolic-syndrome/obesity. Updated January 2020. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Treatment. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute website. Available at: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/treatment. Accessed January 31, 2020.

Last reviewed November 2019 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Daniel A. Ostrovsky, MD Last Updated: 2/5/2021

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