Obesity means having too much body fat and is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30. The BMI is a measure of your weight relative to your height. To measure your BMI, click here.

Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers. Losing even 5 to 10 percent of your weight can delay or prevent some of these diseases.

Morbid obesity, which is also termed “clinically severe obesity,” is typically defined as having a BMI of 35 or higher. An estimated 5-10 million Americans are considered morbidly obese. Obesity becomes "morbid" when it reaches the point of significantly increasing the risk of one or more obesity-related health conditions or serious diseases – also known as co-morbidities – that result either in significant physical disability or even death.

According to the National Institutes of Health Consensus Report, morbid obesity is a serious disease and must be treated as such. It is a chronic disease, meaning that its symptoms build slowly over an extended period of time.