The 5 differences between overweight and obesity

These two concepts associated with the accumulation of body fat can become confused.

"You have to lose weight" . Probably many of the people reading these lines have heard these words from their doctor on some occasion. The words overweight and obesity are not exactly unknown in our society, with excess weight being an increasingly serious and relevant problem that can have severe repercussions on our lives.

But... what are the differences between overweight and obesity? Let's see it throughout this article.

A question of health and feeding

It is understood as overweight that situation in which a subject weighs more than what is considered normative and healthy considering his height, age and sex. As far as obesity is concerned, it is a situation (classifiable as a disorder according to some authors) in which the subject in question maintains an excessive and generalized accumulation of body fat throughout the body.

In both cases, we are dealing with excess weight and body mass. And although many people who diet or exercise do so mainly to conform to a certain do so primarily to conform to a particular canon of beauty, the fact is that this problem The truth is that this problem goes much further: excess weight is a risk factor that facilitates the appearance of different diseases and can even lead to death from heart or respiratory problems.

This excess weight is often the result of a sedentary lifestyle and an excessive intake ofAlthough there are diseases, alterations or conditions in which obesity appears without the two previous factors (for example, hyperplastic obesity, which is produced because the person has an excess of adipose cells (the one that is produced by excesses of ingestion is due to the fact that these cells have a greater size, not because there are more).

Main differences between overweight and obesity

Both overweight and obesity refer to an excess of corporal fatThey are closely related concepts whose main differences are of degree (the obese person has a higher proportion of fat than the overweight person). Moreover, at first sight it is difficult to distinguish the limits between one and the other. But although they are so similar, the truth is that there are a series of differences to take into account when it comes to recognizing them.

1. Body Mass Index (BMI)

The Body Mass Index or BMI is a parameter used to assess the level of body fat. It is calculated by observing the ratio between weight and height squared. In this index we find one of the technical differences between overweight and obesity.

A BMI value of less than 18.5 is considered to be underweight or below the recommended and healthy weight, which can be seriously detrimental to health. BMIs between 18.5 and 25 are considered to be normal weight, with a healthy proportion between weight and height. As of values higher than 25 we would already observe body masses above the healthy range.

Between 25 and 26.9 we would be between grade 1 overweight, from 27 to 29.9 in grade 2 overweight (also called pre-obesity), between BMIs of 30 and 34.9 we would be in type 1 obesity and type 2 obesity would be BMIs between 35 and 39.9. Finally, we would find that body masses with a BMI of 40 to 49.9 would be considered morbid obesity (or type 3), and one over 50 would be called extreme obesity or type 4.

In conclusion, one of the differences between obesity and overweight is that, in terms of BMI, between 25 and 30 the person in question would be considered to be overweight and from a BMI of 30 onwards we would be talking about a case of obesity.

2. Risk level

Another of the main differences between overweight and obesity, and in fact the most important, is to be found in the risk that maintaining these levels of body fat poses to the health of the person whofor the health of the person who suffers from them.

Obesity has been shown to be an important risk factor for the appearance of different pathologies.

The most common and well-known are heart disease and arteriosclerosis (with the consequent increase in the risk of vascular and cerebrovascular events such as strokes and strokes). Also arterial hypertension, bone problems, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems such as bronchitis, hepatic and renal problems.The same applies to arterial hypertension, bone problems, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems such as bronchitis, liver and kidney problems, sleep apnea or back pain, sexual dysfunctions and even fetal malformations in the case of pregnant women. Likewise, surgical interventions and the effects of anesthesia are more dangerous, there are more sleep problems and a greater tendency to anxiety and depression.

The risk of death from one of the above problems (especially Cardiovascular and respiratory problems) is greatly multiplied compared to the normal-weight population.

Regarding the level of risk, in the case of those people who would be in the so-called pre-obesity (with a BMI of around 27-29.9) would have a slight risk of suffering from the above problems. However, within obesity we can find that those with a BMI between 30 and 35 have a moderate risk, if they have between 35 and 40 a high risk and if they have more than 40 a very high risk.

3. Interventions carried out

Another difference between the two can be found in the treatment carried out to solve it. In the case of overweight, the main indications are the prescription of physical exercise and adequate nutritional guidelines. This would also be advisable for people with obesity, although depending on the case and the risk of appearance or worsening of other problems, in this case may require surgery..

4. Causes

The causes of both problems are multifactorial, being the interaction of several elements that lead to overweight or obesity. Generally speaking, one of the best known causes is dysregulation of the nutritional balanceby consuming many more calories than we burn. In other words, eating too much and/or eating poorly and doing little exercise to counteract this. But it is not the only relevant factor. There are also genetic causes, metabolic diseases or the consumption of drugs and substances.

The reason why we have added this aspect as a differentiating factor is that people who have certain genetic problems genetic problems and/or developmental and metabolic diseases tend to evolve (if they are not tend to evolve (if not controlled) towards obesity. On the other hand, overweight that does not increase is usually due to situational factors (although there is also a certain hereditary tendency).

5. Consideration of disease

Although both concepts are worrisome, the fact is that obesity is already considered a disease or disorder, whereas overweight is a risk factor but is notwhile overweight is a risk factor but is not properly identified as a disorder but as a condition.