Health / B2

oh-BEES/əʊˈbiːs/

Obese means very overweight in a medical sense, not merely “a bit heavy”: obese (clinical); childhood obesity. Overweight is milder; fat is informal and often rude. The health paper uses obese with BMI criteria. Noun: obesity. Mix-up: obedient; obscene is shocking. Do not use obese as playground insult in a write-up.

Meaning

Very overweight in a medical sense (often with stated BMI criteria).

Examples

• “The health paper uses obese with stated BMI criteria, not a photo caption.”
• “Childhood obesity featured in the inequality chart, which is the noun obesity.”

Good to know

obese (clinical); obesity; morbidly obese (technical). Milder: overweight. Trap: obedient / obscene. Biology and PSHE. A medical category, not a taunt.

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