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Obesity Obesity refers to the medical condition characterized by storage of excess body fat. The human body naturally stores fat tissue under the skin and around organs and joints. Fat is critical for good health because it is a source of energy when the body lacks the energy necessary to sustain life processes, and it provides insulation and protection for internal organs. But too much fat in the body is associated with a variety of health problems. Most physicians use the body mass index (BMI) to determine desirable weights. BMI is calculated as weight divided by height and people with a BMI of 27 or above are considered obese. Weight-height tables, such as those published by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, are also used as general measures of desirable weight ranges3. These tables assign a range of weights for a particular height. For example, a man of 1.8 m has a desirable range of 66 to 83 kg, with an average of 75 kg. A woman who is 1.6 m has a desirable range between 53 and 70 kg, with an average of 62 kg. The BMI and weight-height tables only provide rough estimates of desirable weights and scientists recognize that many other factors besides height affect weight. Weight alone may not be an indicator of fat, as in the case of a body-builder who may have a high BMI because of a high percentage of muscle tissue, which weighs more than fat. Likewise, a person with a sedentary lifestyle may be within a desirable weight range but have excess fat tissue. Obesity increases the risk of developing disease. According to some estimates, almost 70 percent of heart disease cases are linked to excess body fat, and obese people are more than twice as likely to develop high blood pressure. Obese women are at nearly twice the risk for developing breast cancer, and all obese people have an estimated 42 percent higher chance of developing colon cancer. The risk of medical complications, particularly heart disease, increases when body fat is distributed around the waist, especially in the abdomen. This type of upper body fat distribution is more common in men than in women. The social and psychological problems experienced by obese people are also formidable. Stereotypes about "fat" people are often translated into discriminatory practices in education, employment, and social relationships. The consequences of being obese in a world where people had better be "thin" are especially severe for women, whose appearances are often judged against an ideal of exaggerated slimness.

According to this article, fat people may be