Nowadays, obesity has become an enormous as well as fatal health problems. This problem not only in India but in other countries also. Even in United States of America, one out in three adults and one out of five children and teenagers are facing the problems of obesity. In India also, we are sailing in the same boat. Most of the people since childhood fall prey to obesity is most of the countries of the world . In fact, ‘obesity is that condition of the body in which the amount of fat increases at extreme level.’ In other words, obesity can be defined as ‘the condition when an individual weighs 20 per cent or more than the ideal weight. ‘ A child weighing around 30 pounds (approximately 13.600 kg ) or more than the ideal body weight is usually considered an obese. In the state of obesity, the body weight of the individual is always more in comparison to height . Due to a number of health risks of obesity , it has been declared a disease . It has been observed that obese persons usually fall prey to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, arthritis , osteoarthritis, flat foot, respiratory problems , varicose veins , liver malfunctions , etc .

Generally , the questions arises : What should be the ideal body weight of an individual ? Who is obese and who is not? Different methods are used in various countries to know the obesity of an individual .According to the first method , after having a glance over the shape of the body it can be observed whether he/she is obese or not . But this method cannot be called an appropriate method to know about obesity of an individual because the approval of a society about body shape changes with the passage of time . For example , plump females used to be liked by society in yester century in India . According to the second method , if an individual’s body weight is more than in proportion to height (according to height and weight chart) , the individual will be obese . But this method cannot be accepted as the best method. The third method is a more scientific method . In this method , the body fat percentage is calculated . If the body fat percentage of a person is more than the requirement , he/she will be an obese . This is the most accurate method to know the obesity but it is not easy to apply this method . In comparison to other methods , the weight and height chart is still preferred to know one’s obesity because it is easily available , cheap and easy to use . Another method to know the obesity is BMI (or Body Mass Index ). If you want to know your body mass index , then divide your body weight in kg by your height in meter square viz .