Obesity Degree
Obesity Degree expresses your weight as a percentage of a reference weight derived from height; it says nothing about body composition.
Short answer
Obesity Degree is your weight expressed as a percentage of a reference weight for your height. The 90 to 110 percent range is manufacturer orientation; the value says nothing about whether that weight is muscle or fat.
What the value represents
Despite the name, this is not an assessment of obesity. It is a ratio of two weights: yours and a reference weight calculated from height.
A value of 100 percent means your weight equals the reference weight. Above 100 percent it is higher, below 100 percent lower.
Because only weight and height enter the calculation, it carries the same limitation as BMI: it cannot tell muscle from fat. The manual says so directly — because it accounts only for weight, it is not an absolute tool for assessing obesity.
The number is therefore best read as BMI retold. There is no new information in it.
- The ratio of current to reference (ideal) weight expressed as a percentage.
- Another way of expressing the same information BMI carries.
- It does not represent the amount of fat, of muscle, or how fat is distributed.
How the value is produced
- A calculated value. The manual gives the formula: Obesity Degree (%) = (current weight ÷ ideal weight) × 100.
- Ideal weight is a reference comparison: it is calculated as ideal BMI × height². The manual gives an ideal BMI of 22 for men and 21 for women in the Asian population, and 22 for men and 21.5 for women in the Western one.
- For people under 18 the ideal BMI changes with the state of growth, so the reference weight changes too.
- Weight is the only directly measured quantity in the calculation. Height is entered manually and the device does not measure it itself.
How to read the current value
- The manual gives a reference range of 90 to 110 percent. Within it your weight sits around the reference value for your height.
- The range is a manufacturer reference, not a health threshold and certainly not a diagnosis of obesity.
- A muscular build can produce a value above 110 percent without an elevated fat share. The manual describes this combination for BMI as a muscular type.
- Conversely: a value inside the range does not rule out a high fat share. For that combination the manual uses the term sarcopenic obesity.
How to read change over time
- The value changes only with weight, because height is stable in an adult. It therefore fluctuates exactly as weight does — with food, drink and fluid retention.
- A change does not say whether fat or muscle was lost. Fat mass and muscle mass from the same measurement are needed for that.
- A stable Obesity Degree with rising muscle and falling fat is a common and favourable situation this value does not capture at all.
General principles: how to read change between measurements →
What to read it with
- Percent Body Fat – separates a muscular build from a high fat share.
- BMI – carries the same information in a different form.
- Skeletal muscle mass and fat mass – show what the weight is made of.
- Weight – the only quantity that moves the value.
- Target Weight – the manual warns that it is not derived from height and ideal weight, but from balanced body composition.
Common misunderstandings
- The name invites reading the value as a diagnosis. It is neither a diagnosis of obesity nor an assessment of health.
- It is not percent body fat. A value of 114 percent does not mean 114 percent fat or 14 percent more fat.
- Ideal weight is a population reference derived from height, not a personal goal.
- A value below 100 percent is not automatically better.
- Obesity Degree and child obesity degree are two different values with different references.
What can affect the result short term
- Everything that affects weight: food, drink, clothing, time of day, fluid retention.
- The accuracy of the entered height, because the reference weight is calculated from it. A two-centimetre error shifts the reference noticeably.
- The menstrual cycle, during which fluid retention fluctuates.
What to do next
- Treat the value as BMI retold and decide from percent body fat and muscle mass.
- Check your entered height; it is the one input not re-measured at every visit.
- When fat distribution is what interests you, follow waist circumference and Visceral Fat Area rather than this value.
What the value does not determine
- It does not diagnose obesity or any other condition.
- It does not distinguish muscle mass from fat mass.
- It depends on the accuracy of the manually entered height.
- The reference weight is a population reference that additionally differs according to which population table is used.
On terminology
- Ideal weight is described in the manual as a recommended value derived from height, not as an individual goal.
- The manufacturer uses the term reference range; the word norm is avoided in this context because it implies diagnostic meaning.
In more depth, with sourcesIn more depth: the relationship to BMI and why the result must not be read as a diagnosisExpand the detailed explanation
The two equations from the manual can be composed. Ideal weight is ideal BMI × height², and Obesity Degree is current weight divided by ideal weight times a hundred. Substituting, Obesity Degree equals your BMI divided by the ideal BMI, multiplied by a hundred. It is a monotonic transformation of BMI, which means the value carries no information beyond BMI — it merely expresses it as a percentage.
The reference weight is moreover not unambiguous. The manual gives two sets of ideal BMI: 22 for men and 21 for women in the Asian population, and 22 for men and 21.5 for women in the Western one. The same person therefore receives a slightly different Obesity Degree depending on which table is used. The manufacturer terminology rules also describe ideal weight as a recommended value derived from height rather than an individual goal.
Assessing obesity in a particular person is a clinical judgement, not a device output. The World Health Organization uses BMI chiefly as a population indicator of prevalence, and the UK NICE guidance recommends adding waist circumference as a measure of fat distribution in adults with a BMI below 35. Neither Obesity Degree nor BMI can therefore stand as a conclusion about health on its own.
Sources
- InBody 970 Result Sheet Interpretation (ENG_A_211104) — InBody Co., Ltd.
- Obesity and overweight — World Health Organization
- Obesity: identification, assessment and management (CG189) — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
On this page
Related values
Related articles
Where to find it
The Visceral Fat Analysis, circumferences and basal metabolic rate.
- Reviewed by
- MojeInBody content team
- Date
An InBody measurement is not a diagnostic tool. Results do not determine health status and do not replace a medical examination.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what people ask most often about this value.
Does 115 percent mean I am obese?
No. The value says your weight is 15 percent above the reference weight for your height. It does not say what that weight is made of. In a muscular build it is often muscle — what decides is percent body fat and fat distribution.
Is Obesity Degree the same as percent body fat?
It is not. Obesity Degree compares weight with a reference weight; percent body fat describes the share of fat mass in weight. Two people with the same Obesity Degree can have very different body composition.
My Obesity Degree is above the range but my body fat is within it. What does that mean?
That the weight above the reference is not fat. The manual describes this combination for BMI as a muscular type. The decisive information in that situation is percent body fat and muscle mass, not a ratio of weights.
Explanations make the most sense alongside your own trend.
The public guide is open to everyone. The client portal adds your own value, history and the context of a specific measurement.