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Obesity

Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science

Synonyms

Adiposity; Body mass index; Diet; Nutrition; Overweight

Definition

Clinicians define the state of being overweight or obese by body mass index (BMI), which is calculated by body mass in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in meters. BMI from 18.5 to 25 is considered within a healthy range, or less likely to be associated with increased risk from certain weight-related diseases (González-Muniesa et al. 2017). The categories of underweight (BMI <18.5), overweight (BMI 25–30) to obese (BMI >30) are associated with increased risks of certain diseases, costs to reproductive performance, and life expectancy (GBD 2015 Obesity Collaborators et al. 2017; Global BMI Mortality Collaboration et al. 2016; Hammiche et al. 2012; van der Steeg et al. 2008; Zain and Norman 2008).

Introduction

Conservative estimates suggest that over one billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese (Wang and Speakman 2016). Obesity levels have more than doubled since the 1980s,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Tara-Lyn Carter

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  1. Tara-Lyn Carter
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Correspondence to Tara-Lyn Carter .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, MI, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

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  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

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Carter, TL. (2019). Obesity. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3854-1

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Obesity
    Published:
    08 June 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3854-2

  2. Original

    Obesity
    Published:
    18 February 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3854-1

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