• K G Kempers, J W Foote, and T DiFlorio-Brennan.
• Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. kempers@micron.net
• J. Oral Maxillofac. Surg. 2000 Feb 1;58(2):137-43.

PurposeThis article examines the prevalence of obesity in an urban hospital-based office population and describes the associated health risks and systemic complications.Patients And MethodsA total of 225 randomly selected patient charts were reviewed. The patients' height and weight were recorded, and a body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Patients were considered to have a normal weight with a BMI between 20 and 24.9 kg/m2, to be overweight with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2, and to be obese with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater. Comparisons between sex, age, and race were examined.ResultsEighty-five males and 140 females were included in the study. The ages ranged from 9 to 86 years, with a mean age of 37.4+/-16.4 years. The BMIs ranged from 13.9 to 57.7 kg/m2, with a mean BMI of 26.5+/-6.8 kg/m2. Over half (51%) of the population studied was overweight, and 23% were obese. Forty-three percent of males were considered overweight, and 18.8% of males were obese. Women tended to be more overweight: 55.7% of women were overweight and 25.7% were obese. The African-American females had mean BMIs that were considered overweight in all age-groups and obese in most age-groups, which included the less than 29-year-old and over 50-year-old groups. Caucasian females had normal mean BMIs at all ages except for the 30- to 39-year-old and 40- to 49-year-old groups.ConclusionThe increasing prevalence of overweight and obese populations has several considerations in oral and maxillofacial surgery. The associated health risks and increased morbidity and mortality pose a serious threat to the patient being treated in an outpatient setting.

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