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I am in pretty good shape for almost 70, still run, fast walk over 4 miles, lift weights - but am about 10 lbs. over my ideal weight.

No one thinks I’m obese, but I was wondering what amount of “overweight” qualified in the author’s thinking........

I am in pretty good shape for almost 70, still run, fast walk over 4 miles, lift weights - but am about 10 lbs. over my ideal weight. No one thinks I’m obese, but I was wondering what amount of “overweight” qualified in the author’s thinking........

First of all, who determined your "ideal" weight? Second, look at it as a ratio. If you are ten pounds over but your "ideal" weight is ten pounds well then you're double. If your "ideal" weight is 200 then your only 5% over. I would suggest that being within 5-8% of what you consider your "ideal" weight would be harmless. Once you hit the 20% then you're asking for trouble. You also have to consider body type. Mesomorphs tend to carry more fat. Ectomorphs have a hard time gaining weight (like me when I was young).

Start here for body types.

"No one thinks I’m obese, but I was wondering what amount of “overweight” qualified in the author’s thinking........"

They are going by BMI in this study which is another problem with the study. Basically BMI does a straight calculation of your height and weight. So if you are x height and y weight that equals this amount of BMI. The government has a scale of what they think the ranges of BMI are underweight/normal/overweight/obese. The problem with this measurement is it does not take into account whether your weight is fat weight or muscle weight. You can be close to your ideal BMI and have a lot of fat weight because you never work out and you can be muscular and considered obese.

For instance, I'm sure that a 250 pound linebacker who has abs any of us would die for is considered obese by the BMI scale the government uses. A better way to measure people is not by BMI, but by your body fat. In other words, the ratio you have of fat weight to muscle weight. We all need some fat weight. The best way to measure this is getting into water and they are able to measure the water displacement. Other ways to do it is an instrument they have at the doctors office to pinch your arm and also to measure your neck in relation to your waistline.