Minority Women's Health

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Overweight and Obesity

Minority Women's Health > Hispanic Americans/Latinas > Health Topics > Overweight and Obesity

• Resources in English
• Recursos en español

Being overweight or obese increases your risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, breathing problems, arthritis, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (breathing problems while sleeping), osteoarthritis, and some cancers. Obesity is measured with a body mass index (BMI). BMI shows the relationship of weight to height. Women with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight, while women with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. All adults (aged 18 years or older) who have a BMI of 25 or more are considered at risk for early death and disability from being overweight or obese. These health risks increase as the BMI rises.

Where your body stores extra weight is also important. For most women, carrying extra weight around their waists or middle (with a waist larger than 35 inches) raises health risks more than carrying extra weight around their hips or thighs. These health risks include heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. If you are overweight or obese, losing weight can lower your risk for many diseases. And exercise is a key part of weight loss. Try to be active (30 minutes most days of the week is best) and eat better to help prevent and treat obesity.

Among Mexican American women, 73 percent are overweight or obese, as compared to only 61.6 percent of the general female population. More than half of Mexican American women do not report any leisure exercise

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, published jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, can help you reach your goals. These guidelines offer advice on choosing healthy foods, keeping a healthy weight, and getting enough exercise.

Resources in English

Publications

1.   Calculate Your Body Mass Index — The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. Enter your weight and height to find your BMI. The BMI tables will help you determine whether you are underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.

   http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

2.   Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight? — The more overweight you are, the more likely you are to have health problems. Weight loss can help improve the harmful effects of being overweight. This fact sheet explains how to verify if you might be overweight, how extra body weight can add to health risks, and how to safely lose weight.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/health_risks.htm

3.   Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Better Health and You: Tips for Adults — This booklet gives information on weight gain and obesity in adults. It also includes information on eating healthy, getting active, and losing weight.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/better_health.htm

4.   Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Fit for Two: Tips for Pregnancy — This booklet contains information on eating healthy during pregnancy. It explains how many calories you should eat and how much weight you should gain. In addition, it discusses physical activity during pregnancy and losing weight after pregnancy.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/two.htm

5.   Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Young at Heart: Tips for Older Adults — This booklet contains tips for older adults on eating healthy, getting active and losing weight.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/young_heart.htm

6.   Physical activity: Prevalence and related issues among Hispanic women — This article discusses the prevalence of physical activity among Hispanic women as well as related issues, such as barriers that need to be addressed.

   http://www.fitness.gov/enewsletter/Summer07_featurearticle.htm

7.   Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals — This colorful book provides information to assist families in purchasing and preparing healthy, thrifty meals that meet the recommendations in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. The book contains two sample meal plans (consisting of two weekly menus, 40 recipes, and two food lists), tips for shopping, healthy cooking, and keeping food safe.

   http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/rec-thrifty/recipes.htm

8.   Weight Loss For Life — This publication contains information about diet and the various types of weight-loss programs to help individuals decide what's best for their needs.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm

9. Exercise: How to Get Started (Copyright © AAFP) — This fact sheet discusses the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing health problems. Tips are offered on how to get started as well as diagrams on how to properly stretch before any level of exercise.

   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical/basics/015.html

Organizations

1.   Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, FCS, FNCS, USDA
2.   Smallstep.gov
3.   Weight-Control Information Network, NIDDK, NIH, HHS
4. American Dietetic Association
5. American Obesity Association
6. American Society for Bariatric Surgery

= Indicates Federal Resources

Recursos en español

Publicaciones

1.   Calcule su indice de masa corporal (IMC) — Esta página contiene una calculadora que mide su índice de masa corporal. Este resultado le indica si usted tiene sobrepeso o si es considerado obeso.

   http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/sp_bmicalc.htm

2.   Cómo alimentarse y mantenerse activo durante toda la vida: Cómo mejorar su salud: consejos para adultos — Este folleto contiene información sobre cómo mantenerse activos y saludables. También incluye recetas e información sobre el ejercicio y las dietas saludables a seguir.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/para_adultos.htm

3.   Cómo alimentarse y mantenerse activo durante toda la vida: consejos para la futura mamá — Este folleto contiene sugerencias para mejorar su plan de alimentación y para mantenerse más activa físicamente antes, durante y después de su embarazo.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/la_futura_mama.htm

4.   Cómo alimentarse y mantenerse activo durante toda la vida: Sugerencias para personas mayores — Este folleto ofrece sugerencias y herramientas para ayudar a las personas de 65 años en adelante a comer bien y a mantenerse activas.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/personas_mayors.htm

5.   Preguntas frecuentes acerca de la obesidad — Este página explica qué es la obesidad y las causas que pueden contribuir a la obesidad. Incluye estadísticas sobre cuantas mujeres son obesas en los Estados Unidos, problemas de salud que son asociados a la obesidad, y cómo una se puede mejorar su salud.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/espanol/preguntas/obesity.htm

6.   Las hormonas y la obesidad (Copyright © Hormone Foundation) — Esta hoja define la obesidad y también tiene información sobre por qué debe uno preocuparse por la obesidad y cómo debe uno tratarla.

   http://www.hormone.org/Spanish/Factsheets_Spanish/upload/spanish_obesity.pdf

Organizaciones

1.   Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, HHS
2.   Nutrition.gov en español
3.   Smallstep.gov en español
4. American Heart Association en español

= Recurso Federal

Current as of December 2007