Body Weight (original) (raw)

On this page

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

• Health Check Tools

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

• About Body Mass Index (BMI) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

• Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

• Antidepressants and Weight Gain: What Causes It? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

• Beta Blockers: Do They Cause Weight Gain? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

• Body Image and Mental Health (Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) Also in Spanish

• Thyroid and Weight (American Thyroid Association) Also in Spanish

• BMI Frequently Asked Questions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

• Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

• Tips for Maintaining Healthy Weight (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• Unexplained Weight Loss (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

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

• FastStats: Obesity and Overweight (National Center for Health Statistics)

• Overweight and Obesity Statistics (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)

• 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