Body Weight

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.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Specifics

• About Adult BMI Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Finding a Balance of Food and Activity Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Unexplained Weight Loss Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Children

• About Child and Teen BMI Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Birth Weight: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
• Overweight and Obesity (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• What “Being Overweight” Means (For Kids) Nemours Foundation

Related Issues

• Antidepressants and Weight Gain: What Causes It? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Body Image Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health
• Can Beta Blockers Cause Weight Gain? Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
• Thyroid and Weight American Thyroid Association

Start Here

• Assessing Your Weight Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Assessing Your Weight and Health Risk National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Body mass index Medical Encyclopedia
• Growth chart Medical Encyclopedia
• Overweight Medical Encyclopedia
• Weight gain – unintentional Medical Encyclopedia
• Weight loss – unintentional Medical Encyclopedia

Health Check Tools

• Calculate Your Body Mass Index National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Mass Index National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Weight National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Body Weight Changes National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Obesity National Institutes of Health
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Thinness National Institutes of Health

Find an Expert

• Find a Nutrition Expert Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Older Adults

• Healthy Lifestyles for Healthy Older Adults Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• New Discovery About Middle-Age Weight Gain

Statistics and Research

• Overweight and Obesity Statistics National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Why Do We Get Middle-Age Spread? National Institutes of Health

Journal Articles

• Body Weight

Teenagers

• Staying at a Healthy Weight (For Teens) Nemours Foundation
• What’s the Right Weight for My Height? (For Teens) Nemours Foundation