When it comes to health, your weight plays a HUGE part of how your body is able to function and take care of itself. Your weight and your health go hand-in-hand. Your health risks increase greatly when you are overweight or obese. Weight can affect you physically and emotionally, and create a large burden on your quality of life: if you are overweight or obese, you have a higher chance of suffering from emotional health problems including depression, anxiety, and lack of self-esteem. Yet, weight is one of the most sensitive topics and can be difficult to talk about whether it is to your physician or your loved ones. Many patients feel hesitant or even ashamed to start this conversation. Part of the reason may be that patients who are overweight or obese somehow feel that “it is my fault,” or “I don’t have enough willpower to lose weight,” nothing could be further from the truth.
One ‘quick and dirty’ way to assess whether you weight puts your health at risk is to calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index). BMI is a number calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms by his/her height in meters squared. There are four main weight categories that healthcare professionals use when assessing weight:
- Normal
- Overweight
- Obsese
- Severely Obese
Depending on your BMI, you’ll most likely fall into one of these four weight status categories.
The health risks of having an abnormal BMI are well-established – this is NOT a vanity issue! Not only are patients more injury-prone and at higher risk for chronic pain, you may be more susceptible to serious health problems including:
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Cancer
- Gallbladder Disease
- Heartburn
- Heart Disease
- High Cholesterol
- High Blood Pressure
- Osteoarthritis
- Psychological Depression
- Sleep Apnea
- Stroke
Here at Oahu Spine & Rehab, we strive to exceed our patient’s expectations of achieving better health and a higher quality of life. Our providers can speak with you and help you figure out your BMI, which although it may not tell the whole story, is a crucial first step when it comes to seeing if your weight is detrimental to your health! OSR offers its patients our in-house physician-run weight loss program through OSR Weight Management with Dr. Anegawa, who is board certified in both Obesity Medicine as well as in Internal Medicine. Regularly scheduled no-obligation Infosessions can help you learn more, as well as how to take control. Visit the OSR Weight Management site here.
And don’t hesitate to start the conversation with friends, family members, and your clinician – today!
Resources:
https://www.yourweightmatters.org/measure-your-weight/body-mass-index-bmi/
