An overweight person consumes food energy in excess of expenditure and stores the surplus in body fat. The presence of this excess fat impairs the functioning of many important organs and body systems and can lead to multiple health problems, even death. Excess body fat has been linked to a long list of adverse health problems including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, gall bladder disease, and certain reproductive disorders. Health practitioners acknowledge that obesity is prevalent enough to be considered a serious health concern. One method used to measure obesity is the determination of body fat content, or body compositional analysis.
Percentages vary with age.
There are a number of methods used to measure body fat percentages. This test measures the thickness of the skin at various locations in the body to estimate body fat content. Underwater weighing techniques are known to be the most accurate method of measuring a person's body fat content, but these techniques are not widely available. At this time this technique is only available at select medical clinics and centres. Another popular technique for estimating body fat content is derived from one's height and weight.