Obesity is defined as “the condition of an excessively high amount of body fat or adipose tissue in relation to lean body mass.”  A more commonly-known definition of obesity is that of an individual’s weight being 30% or more above what is considered normal as defined by a standardly-accepted height/weight chart (e.g. The National Center for Health Statistics or Metropolitan Life Insurance Company). Overweight and obesity are also commonly determined by calculating an individual’s body mass index.

Excessive body weight is associated with various diseases, particularly cardiovascular diseases, diabetes (more…)