The percentage of overweight and obese adults is an indicator of the overall health and lifestyle of a community. Being overweight or obese affects quality of life and puts individuals at risk for developing many diseases, especially heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer. Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases. Being overweight or obese also carries significant economic costs due to increased healthcare spending and lost earnings.

This indicator shows the percentage of adults who are overweight or obese according to the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is calculated by taking a person's weight and dividing it by their height squared in metric units (BMI=Weight (Kg)/Height(m)^2). A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight and a BMI >30 is considered obese.

Data Source: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Office of Public Health Assessment, Center for Health Data and Informatics, Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2101, Telephone: 801-538-9466, Website: http://health.utah.gov/opha/OPHA_BRFSS.htm, Email: lmacleod@utah.gov