What would you class as obese?

If you can grab a handful of fat on your leg, thigh, or middle, I think that might be obese.

Well… it depends on each person. There’s the scientific obese, there’s the media-made obese, and there’s medical obese.

I’m actually obese, apparently, but it’s because I’m tall.

I agree that if you are happy being bigger and you have no major medical issues from it then more power to you! Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and yes I truly believe this.

To answer your question, to me obese means medical issues (on the more serious side).

You might be happy being big, but it isn’t good for you. Especially belly fat, which surrounds your organs and makes them work less efficiently. Also, people who are bigger tend to have higher cholesterol levels, are more at risk for diabetes and heart issues and have a harder time doing physical activities and breathing.

Typically, men should at about 10%-14% body fat, and women should be at 16%-20%. A person at these percentages would be considered “lean.” A little higher is okay, but once a man breaks 20% body fat and a woman breaks 26%, they are needlessly reducing the quality of their own lives.

just want to say i am not fat but have flab round my belly and thighs.

Medically, it’s usually classified by BMI, using height and weight. After “normal” which is a BMI of 19–25, there’s overweight BMI 25–30, then obese 30–35, and so on. Morbid obesity is considered BMI of 40 or higher, which is nearly double a healthy/normal weight.

BMIs can be misleadingly high in someone with a lot of muscle though.

Just as an example, I’m about 5’8, so normal BMI is between 125 and 164. I’d be considered overweight at 165 to 197. I’d reach morbid obesity at 260.

@MagsRags BMI is an outdated, ridiculous measure of healthy weight. The human body is composed of different things: bone, water, fat, muscle, etc., and the BMI takes none of those into account. According to BMI, I’m obese, but I look perfectly normal.

Go with body fat percentage. It is the most useful and practical measure for healthy weight we have today.

@drdoombot sounds like maybe you’re probably one of those more muscular folks? I agree its not a perfect tool, but I’m speaking from the perspective of someone who does lots of health maintenance exams for women.

I have about 40 minutes my doctor colleagues do annuals in 30 to deal with gynecological issues, update a health history, review and counsel on lifestyle issues like smoking, drinking, drugs, eating habit, exercise, caffeine, stress, talk about their relationships, figure out if they’re up to date on immunizations, mammograms, diabetes and cholsterol checks, colonoscopy, bone density screening, talk about any new symptoms they’re having, update family medical history, and then do a physical exam. The BMI at least gives me a simple framework to start with. It’s hard to imagine adding something more complex.

Body fat percentage based on body composition that lines up with the BMI ideas of “obese.”

Also, frame size should be taken into account.

I was really surprised when one of my friends told me she was technically obese. She wasn’t at all what I thought of when I pictured an obese person. Whatever extra weight she had, it was distributed really nicely. I guess when most people think of an obese person, the image that comes to mind is really a morbidly obese person.