Confessions of the Fat Girl #4

Morbid Obesity

I am of the class of Morbidly Obese. I really, really hate that term. It sounds bad. It is bad. It is deadly, actually.

You may not know what Morbidly Obese actually means, so I will take a moment to quickly inform you…

Let me break it down for you as per www.dictionary.com

mor - bid - ly–adjective
     1.  suggesting an unhealthy mental state or attitude; unwholesomely gloomy, sensitive, extreme, etc.: a morbid interest in death.
     2.  affected by, caused by, causing, or characteristic of disease.
     3.  pertaining to diseased parts: morbid anatomy.
     4.  gruesome; grisly.

o - bese–adjective
     1.  very fat or overweight; corpulent.

According to www.reference.com, the term morbid obesity refers to patients who are 50 - 100% -- or 100 pounds above -- their ideal body weight. Alternatively, a BMI (body mass index) value greater than 39 may be used to diagnose morbid obesity.

How is BMI determined?

According to www.reference.com BMI, or Body Mass Index, was developed by the Belgian statistician and anthropometrist Adolphe Quetelet. It is calculated by dividing the subject's weight in kilograms by the square of his/her height in metres (BMI = kg/m^2).

The current definitions commonly in use establish the following values, agreed in 1997 and published in 2000:

A BMI less than 18.5 is underweight
A BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 is normal weight
A BMI of 25.0 - 29.9 is overweight
A BMI of 30.0 - 39.9 is obese
A BMI of 40.0 or higher is severely (or morbidly) obese

There is an easy-to-use BMI calculator at The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Also, when being tested for morbid obesity, they take into consideration the circumference of your waist. Adipose fat, also known as visceral fat or organ fat, is very dangerous when it gathers in the abdomen for the main reason that it is INSIDE the abdominal cavity. So, think about that one for a bit… it is in the cavity. It takes up the much needed space for the internal organs… it crushes them and it can quickly lead to cardiovascular complications, high blood pressure, heart disease… on and on and on.

See. Told you. It isn’t pretty and it is very dangerous.

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