Obesity The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat that takes into account sex, height, and weight and helps doctors determine if a patient is overweight. A healthy BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9; a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; and a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese (Health Canada, 2003). Overall 35 percent of all patients in UTOPIAN practices were overweight and close to 30 percent are obese (Figure 1). In general males (Figure 2) are more likely to be overweight than females (Figure 3). Figures 1, 2 and 3 are based on 71 percent of patients who had BMI data available.
FIGURE 1: BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) FOR ADULTS BY AGE AGE
PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS WITH BMI RECORDED 10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
19–34 years
35–49 years
50–64 years
65+ years
All ages
1
Underweight (BMI <18.5)
2
Normal (BMI 18.5–24.9)
3
Overweight (BMI 25–20.9)
4
Obese (BMI >=30)
*Based on 224,295/316,266=71 percent of adults age 19 years and older with BMI recorded or calculated in their EMR record
FIGURE 2: BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) FOR ADULT MALES BY AGE* AGE
PERCENTAGE OF PATIENTS WITH BMI RECORDED 10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
19–34 years
35–49 years
50–64 years
65+ years
All ages
1
Underweight (BMI <18.5)
2
Normal (BMI 18.5–24.9)
3
Overweight (BMI 25–20.9)
4
Obese (BMI >=30)
*Based on 93,746/141,478 = 66 percent of males age 19 years and older with BMI recorded or calculated in their EMR record Keeping You Well: Preventing and Testing for Diseases | 27