Body Weight

Health → Metabolic Problems →

Body Weight

Summary

Do you know if your current weight is healthy? "Underweight", "normal", "overweight", and "obese" are all labels for ranges of weight. Obese and overweight mean that your weight is greater than it should be for your health. Underweight means that it is lower than it should be for your health. Your healthy body weight depends on your sex and height. For children, it also depends on your age.

A sudden, unexpected change in weight can be a sign of a medical problem. Causes for sudden weight loss can include

Thyroid problems
Cancer
Infectious diseases
Digestive diseases
Certain medicines

Sudden weight gain can be due to medicines, thyroid problems, heart failure, and kidney disease.

Good nutrition and exercise can help in losing weight. Eating extra calories within a well-balanced diet and treating any underlying medical problems can help to add weight.

Start Here

Assessing Your Weight (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Related Issues

Antidepressants and Weight Gain (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Body Image (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish
Can Beta Blockers Cause Weight Gain? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Normal Weight Obesity: A Hidden Health Risk? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
Thyroid and Weight (American Thyroid Association) Also in Spanish

Specifics

About BMI for Adults (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Health Risks of Being Overweight? (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Preventing Weight Gain (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Unexplained Weight Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Health Check Tools

Calculate Your Body Mass Index (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

FastStats: Obesity and Overweight (National Center for Health Statistics)
Overweight and Obesity Statistics (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Why Do We Get Middle-Age Spread? (National Institutes of Health) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Mass Index (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Weight (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Weight Changes (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Obesity (National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov: Thinness (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Find an Expert

Find a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Children

About BMI for Children and Teens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
Birth Weight: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
BMI in Children (American Heart Association)
Overweight and Obesity (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
What "Being Overweight" Means (For Kids) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Your Child's Weight (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

Healthy Weight Gain for Teens: A Guide for Parents (Children's Hospital Boston)
Media and Body Image (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
What's the Right Weight for My Height? (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Seniors

Healthy Weights for Healthy Older Adults (Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics)

Patient Handouts

Body mass index (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Growth chart (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Overweight (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Weight gain - unintentional (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Weight loss - unintentional (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Basics

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Research

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