For some Americans, obesity can be an invitation to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type-2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, arthritis, sleep/breathing disturbances, and even cancer.

Body Mass Index
How do you know if your weight is a problem? By calculating your Body Mass Index, or BMI - a measure based on the relationship of height to weight.

A BMI of 25 or more means you're overweight; a BMI of 30 or more points to obesity.

What you may not know is what the BMI doesn't do: it doesn't distinguish between the weight supplied by lean muscle mass and the unwanted weight supplied by body fat. That means someone could have a high BMI, but a low percentage of fat. Athletes, firefighters, and military people can have high BMIs and still be in terrific health, with a low percentage of body fat. Someone else may look thin, have a "healthy BMI," but still suffer from a high fat percentage. The key, when in doubt, is to ask your own physician to work up a patient-specific profile.

Weight management instead of fad diets
What should you do if your BMI is heading in the wrong direction? Strive for a healthy weight target with a BMI of 24 or less.

• Focus on a healthy diet and regular physical activity - both important for maintaining a healthy weight.
• Forget the fad diet. Most of us can lose weight simply by decreasing the total number of fat calories we take in and by working out, even in small, moderate ways, for 30 minutes a day.
• Commit to improving your health through small weight losses that are achievable and maintainable. Even a small decrease in fat calories and a slight increase in physical activity can help prevent weight gain and trigger weight loss.

Resources
If you're interested in determining your own BMI, check the chart available on the Customs Intranet (Customsnet) under HRM/SAFE Division/Health and Wellness. You will also find an excellent source of information on obesity and a BMI calculator at www.webmd.com ("search" under Weight Management Center). Address your additional questions to wellness@customs.treas.gov.

Take the BMI Test
The formula for determining BMI is derived by multiplying your weight in pounds by 703 and dividing that result by your height in inches squared.

Step A:	____ pounds (your weight) x 703 = ____ (weight result)
Step B:	____ inches (your height) x ____ inches (your height) = ____ (height result)
Step C:	____ (Step A weight result) ÷ ______ (Step B height result) = ______ BMI

BMI Scores:
18 or below indicates underweight

19-24 indicates normal weight

25-29 indicates overweight

30 or above indicates Obese