Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) presents “Ask an Expert”, a series where team members from our Bariatric Centre of Excellence answer questions they commonly encounter. For more information on our Regional Bariatric Care Centre, please visit bit.ly/TBRHSC-RBCC. This month’s question is answered by Rae-Anne Robinson, Social Worker, Regional Bariatric Care Centre at TBRHSC.
Does everyone with a larger body have obesity?
No. Body weight alone is not the defining factor of obesity. The belief that lower body weight is healthier is perpetuated in our society and health care system, but the reality is that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes. In fact, research demonstrates that many individuals who live in larger bodies are healthy, based on important health markers such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels. By definition, obesity requires that body weight impairs health and wellbeing, therefore not everyone who lives in a larger body is living with obesity.
