DOES THIS MEAN YOU? 

By definition, an obese person is anyone who weighs 30 percent or more over what he or she should weigh. Even if you are not that much over- weight, it can be important to lose the first 10 pounds or so of excess, because the chances are that if you are overweight at all, you will gain Weight Control / 6 more in the future, and it is easier to lose 10 pounds than 20, 30, 50, or 100. Usually, your mirror provides you with a fairly good clue about whether you are too heavy. You can consult the accompanying table to determine whether your eyes have deceived you.

DESIRABLE WEIGHTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN    

Weight in pounds, according to frame, as ordinarily dressed, including shoes

HEIGHT                                                                

(WITH SHOES ON)                                                           

FT. IN.   SMALL FRAME                   MEDIUM FRAME              LARGE FRAME

                                                Men                     

5              2              116-125                                124-133                131-142

5              3              119-128                                127-136                133-144

5              4              122-132                                130-140                137-149

5              5              126-136                                134-144                141-153

5              6              129-139                                137-147                145-157

5              7              133-143                                141-151                149-162

5              8              136-147                                145-160                153-166

5              9              140-151                                149-160                157-170

5              10           144-155                                153-164                161-175

5              11           148-164                                157-168                165-180

6              0              152-164                                161-173                169-185

6              1              157-169                                166-178                174-190

6              2              163-175                                171-184                179-196

6              3              168-180                                176-189                184-202

                                                Women                               

4              11           104-111                                110-118                117-127

5              0              105-113                                112-120                119-129

5              1              107-115                                114-122                121-131

5              2              110-118                                117-125                124-135

5              3              113-121                                120-128                127-138

5              4              116-125                                124-132                131-142

5              5              119-128                                127-135                133-145

5              6              123-132                                130-140                138-150

5              7              126-136                                134-144                142-154

5              8              129-139                                137-147                145-158

5              9              133-143                                141-151                149-162

5              10           136-147                                145-155                152-166

5              11           139-150                                148-158                155-169

You will note that this table, unlike some others, gives desirable rather than average weights. Average people tend to become fat with the passing of the years, and this is not desirable. Average weight tables reflect the fatties who make up the upper part of the average. Note that in each ural weight group there is an allowance or range of about 10 pounds. If you have lost or gained a few pounds outside the limits for your height and frame, discuss the matter with your physician at the next visit.

 If you vary 15 or more pounds from the limits, make an appointment for an immediate checkup. There are several simple tests, too, by which you can assess your actual fatness. One, the ruler test, is based on the fact that if there is no excess of fat, the abdominal surface between the flare of the ribs and front of the pelvis normally is flat. If you lie flat on your back and place a ruler on the abdomen, along the midline of the body, it should not point upward at the midsection. 

If it does, you need to slim down. The skinfold, or pinch, test simply calls for grasping a "pinch" of skin with thumb and forefinger-at your waist, stomach, upper arm, but- tocks, and calf. At least half of body fat is directly under the skin. Generally, the layer beneath the skin-which is what you measure with the pinch since only the fat, not muscle, pinches-should be between one-fourth and one-half inch. Since, with your pinch, you are getting a double thickness, it normally should be one-half to one inch.

A fold much greater than one inch indicates excess body fatness- one much thinner than half an inch indicates abnormal thinness.

GLANDULAR VERSUS ORDINARY OVERWEIGHT Some 50 years ago, when hormones were discovered, there was a common notion that obesity must be due to some hormone problem. When this turned out to be rarely the case, there was a shift to the idea that obesity is never due to hormonal disturbances but is always the result of overeating. Today, some physicians think that the reasonable view is that to become obese it is always necessary to eat more than you need for the energy you expend, and how often this may be due to some shift in hormone functioning, even within the so-called normal range of such functioning, is simply unknown.

What is known is that in those relatively few cases where a hormone problem can be detected and corrected, it is most commonly the thyroid gland that is at fault. Located at the side and in front of the windpipe, just below the" Adam's apple," the one-ounce thyroid gland acts some- what like a thermostat, regulating the rate at which body organs function and the speed with which the body uses food. With an overactive thyroid, body functions speed up noticeably. 

There may be a perceptibly faster heartbeat, nervousness, difficulty in sleeping at night, and weight loss. With an underactive thyroid producing inadequate amounts of thyroid hormone, there is a tendency to be lethargic and to gain weight. When thyroid dysfunction is suspected in an overweight person (or anyone else, there are tests-basal metabolism and others-that can determine whether, in fact, there is a problem. If under activity is established