Body Mass
Index (BMI)
[weight in kilograms divided by
height in meters squared]
underweight: BMI less than 18. 5 kg/m2
overweight: BMI between 25 and 29. 9 kg/m2
obese: BMI over 30 kg/m2
American Association for Cancer Research 17
impact of adopting these aspects of a healthy lifestyle could
be enormous because it is estimated that one-third of all
new cancer diagnoses in the United States are related to
being overweight or obese, not getting enough physical
activity, and/or having poor dietary habits ( 10, 16).
Moreover, more than one-third of adults, or more than 72
million individuals, and 17 percent of youth in the United
States are obese ( 21, 22).