ABSTRACT
Obesity is a disease of excessive abdominal or subcutaneous body fat mass (Figure 4.1). Obesity is best measured by waist circumference rather than body mass index (BMI) because waist circumference measures abdominal obesity, whereas BMI measures total body fat. Individuals with high BMI such as some athletes who are not necessarily obese may also qualify as obese when in reality they do not necessarily have big waist circumferences.
