[Evaluation of obesity and diagnostic criteria of obesity as a disease for Japanese].

Obesity causes many undesirable health disorders such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and so on. Recently, those life style-affecting diseases is increasing, especially the increment of diabetes mellitus is prominent. In 2000, Japan obesity society issued the new standard of the evaluation of obesity and new diagnostic criteria of obesity as a disease for Japanese. According to this issue, obesity was evaluated by body mass index(BMI). And, 18.5 < BMI < 25 is normal, 25 < BMI < 30 is obese 1, 30 < BMI < 35 is obese 2, 35 < BMI < 40 is obese 3, and 40 < is obese 4. Obesity as a disease is defined by two cases. The first category is composed of two items; one is BMI > 25, and the other is having one disease worsen by obesity, such as diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, hyperuricemia, coronary heart disease, cerebral infarction, sleep apnea syndrome, fatty liver, deformative arthritis. The second category is the visceral type of obesity with BMI > 25, which was diagnosed by west size, over 85 cm for men, and over 90 cm for women, and by visceral fat area over 100 cm2 in abdominal CT.