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Home > A-Z Health Topics > Minority Women's Health > Latinas > Overweight and obesity

Overweight and obesity

• More information on overweight and obesity in English
• Más recursos en español (Additional resources in Spanish)

Overweight and obesity are serious health problems for Latino families. For instance, about 3 in 4 Mexican-American women are overweight or obese. Mexican-American women make up the largest portion of Latinas in the United States. Another problem is that nearly 6 in 10 Latinas are not physically active, making it harder to keep a healthy weight.

Being overweight or obese increases your risk for:

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Breathing problems
• Arthritis
• Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea
• Some cancers

Obesity or overweight is measured with a body mass index (BMI). The taller you are, the more weight you can carry. And shorter people can't carry as much weight. So, the BMI shows the relationship of weight to height. For instance, if you are 5 feet 4 inches tall and weigh 145 pounds, your BMI is 25. But if you are 5 feet 4 inches tall and weigh 174 pounds, your BMI is 30. Women with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are considered overweight. Women with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. All people 18 years or older who have a BMI of 25 or more are at risk of early death and disability from being overweight or obese. These health risks increase as the BMI rises.

If you are overweight or obese, losing weight can lower your risk of many health problems. And physical activity is one key part of weight loss and keeping a healthy weight. Health benefits are gained by doing the following each week:

• Aerobic activity that includes:
  • 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity
    or
    
  • 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity
    or
    
  • A combination of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity
    and
    
  • Muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days of the week

This physical activity should be in addition to your routine activities of daily living, such as cleaning or spending a few minutes walking from the parking lot to your office. If weight loss is your goal, you may need to spend more time doing aerobic activity to see the effects.

Eating healthy meals that focus on portion control also plays a role in weight loss and keeping a healthy weight. If you need to lose weight, ask your doctor to help you with a weight-loss plan that includes healthy meal planning and physical activity.

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More information on overweight and obesity in English

Explore other publications and websites

• 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/
• 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 find out if you are 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
• Exercise: How to Get Started (Copyright © American Academy of Family Physicians) — This fact sheet discusses the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing health problems. It includes tips on how to get active as well as diagrams on how to properly stretch before working out.
  http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical/basics/015.html
• 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
• Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Across Your Lifespan: Young at Heart: Tips for Older Adults — This booklet gives tips for older adults on eating healthy, getting active, and losing weight.
  http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/young_heart.htm
• 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
• Weight Loss for Life — This publication talks about ways to lose weight and keep it off for life. It emphasizes a mix of healthy diet and exercise and covers different weight-loss programs to help individuals decide what's best for their needs.
  http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/for_life.htm

Connect with other organizations

• American Dietetic Association
  http://www.eatright.org/default.aspx
• American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
  http://www.asbs.org/
• Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, FCS, FNCS, USDA
  http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/
• SmallStep.gov
  http://www.smallstep.gov/
• The Obesity Society
  http://www.obesity.org/
• Weight-Control Information Network
  http://win.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm

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Más recursos en español (Additional resources in Spanish)

Content last updated May 18, 2010.

Resources last updated May 18, 2010.

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