Distinguish Excessive Obesity And Weight, Don't Just Look At The Balance

Illustration of obesity. (Freepic)

JAKARTA - Obesity is often misunderstood as a condition that is just overweight. In fact, obesity and excess body weight are two different conditions.

One of the differences between obesity and excess weight lies in the size of a person's body mass index (IMT). People who experience excess IMT weight are not more than 25, while people with IMT obesity are more than 25.

"IMT is for Asians, for overweight is between 23 and 25, while for obesity it is more than 25," said dr. Farid Kurniawan, Sp.PD, PhD - HISOBI (Indonesian Obesity Study Association), in Kuningan, Jakarta, written Friday, September 26, 2025.

Doctor Farid said that obesity is indeed a condition with excess weight, but has the potential to cause various dangerous diseases.

"Obesity is actually excess weight, buildup of excess fat, which has the potential to provide chronic and complex health problems," he explained.

Doctor Maya Surjadjaja, Sp. GK, M. Nutrition, from the Indonesian Clinical Nutrition Doctors Association (PDGKI), said that obesity can not only be seen from the body that looks big.

"Sometimes it looks like his body is not too big, but his IMT already shows he's too heavy," said Maya.

Therefore, it is important not only to judge from the visul alone. Objective measurements with figures are much more accurate in determining the condition of the obese body or overweight.

Apart from IMT, it is also necessary to pay attention to the waist circumference, which is one of the important indicators. Fat in the stomach is more dangerous because it is directly related to the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

For girls with a waist circumference of 80 cm, while the guy is normal 90 cm. But this is a special number for Asian Pacific people," Maya explained.

Overabundance of fat in the stomach is usually known as central obesity. A person can have a normal IMT, but if the waist circumference exceeds that number, it can still be at risk of experiencing health problems.