What is being overweight? Overweight and obesity are both defined by Body Mass Index or BMI (which is a ratio of weight to height). A BMI between 25 and 30 places someone in an overweight category and 30 or higher is considered obese.

Why control your weight?
The classifications of overweight and obese are not simply labels; there is a dramatic increase in the likelihood of disease as people increase their BMI, such as:

• Coronary artery disease (CAD)
• Certain cancers
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol and triglycerides
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea
• Stroke
• Type 2 diabetes

The cost of being overweight
Obesity itself is not what causes the harm; it is the diseases that are associated with obesity that cause the harm. The costs of these diseases and syndromes are enormous, and that doesn’t even begin to calculate the personal, physical, and emotional problems associated with increased BMI.

• Obese people are expected to live 2-4 years less than someone with a healthy weight; the extremely obese (BMI over 40) have 8-10 years taken off their life expectancy. ⁱ
• More than one-third of adults in the U.S. are considered overweight and another one-third are obese.
• The medical costs associated with obesity are estimated at over $150 billion dollars.
• Obese people cost an average of $1,429 more in medical services per year than someone who is normal weight.

What can I do to control my weight?
There is much you can do to control your weight. First of all, there are no easy answers. Reducing and maintaining a healthy weight is one of the best tools we have to forestall or avoid many diseases.

1. Lifestyle: Get support, exercise, track your progress, and eat a low-fat and low-calorie diet. 2. Boost Your Metabolism: Maintaining or increasing your lean body mass (muscles) is your best bet for keeping your metabolism going strong. There are a variety of supplements that can help with your metabolism as well. 3. Leucine: The amino acid leucine is great at helping maintain muscle mass, especially in people who are cutting calories and exercising. ii 4. Protein: Not only does protein help you feel full longer, it also helps you keep your lean body mass. Starting the morning with a good protein or protein shake helps you feel full longer. iii 5. Fiber: The benefits of fiber on weight loss are many. Studies have shown that fiber can help you feel full, support blood sugar, and it helps remove cholesterol from the body as part of a healthy diet.iv