Both overweight and obese are terms meaning that the body fat is more than what is considered healthy. Both are used to identify people who are at risk for health problems owing to the body fat percentage. The only difference is that the term obese generally means a much higher amount of body fat than overweight.The body needs fat for energy, heat insulation, and other bodily functions. But the more fat the higher the risk of health problems can be. The health problems that could stem from excess body fat are diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, and other problems.So the only difference is that those who are obese are at slightly more risk than those who are overweight.