Am I a candidate for weight loss surgery?
Obesity is becoming an increasingly prominent health problem in our society. Approximately 15% of men and women in Australia are obese. Obesity is associated with a number of health problems and importantly is associated with a reduced life expectancy.
Definitions
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a method for measuring obesity and relates to a person's height and weight. A BMI score is derived by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by their height (in metres) squared. For example a person who is 183cm tall and weighs 95kg will have a BMI of 28.4; ie. 95 divided by (1.83 x 1.83).
The severity of obesity is defined using the following table of BMI scores:
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BMI |
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Normal |
20-25 |
|
Overweight |
25-30 |
|
Obese |
30-35 |
|
Severely obese |
35-40 |
|
Morbidly obese |
40-50 |
|
Super obese |
50+ |
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