The most practical method of determining whether a person is obese, is by referring the weight to the standard charts based on weight and height relationship. A person is considered overweight if he exceeds the upper range of ideal weight for his body frame. He can also be considered as obese if his weight exceeds by 9 to 10 kgs. his ideal weight.

The amount of body weight can also be estimated from whole body specific gravimetric determinations of from measurements of the thickness of subcutaneous fat folds (fat beneath the skin) with skin fold calipers. These methods are of only academic interest.