How Obesity is Diagnosed?

Sleeve Gastrectomy

By Emel Gerdaneri • Medical review by Yalim Uctum, MD

How Obesity is Diagnosed?

According to the latest statements of the World Health Organization, obesity is now considered a pandemic and many people die in the world due to different health problems related to obesity.

Obesity, which triggers many comorbidities as well as aesthetic concerns, can now be resolved with bariatric surgery. But bariatric surgery is not an operation suitable for everyone, you have to meet some criteria.

In order to understand this, first of all, the obesity diagnosis test comes to mind. Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Specialist Yalim Uctum MD made a statement to Newme on the subject:
Yalim Uctum MD whatsapp
“Exactly as you said, obesity is actually a health problem beyond aesthetic concerns, it is a worldwide pandemic that impairs the quality of life and is suffering from an increasing number of people.

Obesity triggers heart disease, cancer, and many more health problems.

With obesity surgery, we aim to prevent all these problems and to provide individuals with a healthy standard of living. But today, many people who are a few kilos overweight are trying to get help from bariatric surgery.

Here we understand that individuals do not know what obesity is. We have a very simple calculation system that allows us to tell if any person is obese. It's called body mass index.

What is Body Mass Index?

BMIBody mass index is a calculation that determines the fat ratio of individuals. Weight is calculated by dividing height by height.
 
For example, to find the body mass index of a 1.63 height and 52 kg person, 52 / (1.63) ² ie 53 / (1.63) x (1.63) is applied.
 
The result is 19.6, so this individual has a value we call normal. If this value increases, we can say that the fat ratio of people also increases.
 

Body Mass Index and Values

BMI indexThere are some values ​​in bmi indexVKI and we classify them as follows:

  • Below 18.5 – Very weak
  • 18.5 to 24.9 – Normal
  • 25.0 to 29.9 – Overweight
  • 30 and over – Obese
Individuals with a BMI of 30 and above are candidates for bariatric surgery.

If there is a co-morbid disease, different solutions can be produced for the people we put in the "overweight" category, which is lower than this value.
 

Waist Size Is Also Important

waist sizeThe measurement of waist circumference also gives us some data. Since the body structures of women and men are different from each other, different values ​​have been determined for the two sexes here.
 
For women, we want a waist measurement of less than 89,9 cm, and for men, a waist measurement of less than 101.6 cm. Above these numbers may indicate a fatty stomach and visceral fat.
 
These are just the values ​​you can check in the first place. Only a doctor can make a definitive and clear diagnosis.


Written on 20/12/2021

-

Last Update: 09/11/2023

Go Top