obesity
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of obesity
First recorded in 1605–15; from Middle French obésité, from Latin obēsitāt-, stem of obēsitās, equivalent to obēs(us) obese ( def. ) + -i- ( def. ) + -tās -ty 2 ( def. )
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How does obesity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Obesity is the condition of being more overweight than is considered average or healthy. The noun obesity was first used around 1610 and has origins in the Latin word obesitas, meaning "fatness" or "corpulence." During the Middle Ages, obesity was a sign of wealth and prosperity indicating that you had enough money to buy and eat all the food you wanted while others starved. Nowadays, research has shown that having too much fat can cause a number of related health problems. A healthy diet and fitness regime is a great way for someone to shed excess pounds and avoid obesity.
Vocabulary lists containing obesity
"A Rose for Emily"
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List 2
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Nutrition - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Women and people with overweight or obesity also tend to have a greater risk of developing these conditions.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
The new trial included 47 women ages 50 to 79 who had overweight or obesity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Up to 80% of children don’t meet recommended daily physical-activity levels, increasing their risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases later in life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Rather than treating obesity simply as the result of poor choices, the country's new law recognises it as a chronic disease influenced by biology, environment and social circumstances.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Today’s affluent societies are in the throes of a plague of obesity, which is rapidly spreading to developing countries.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
It does not require a Paxton to know that a hole in the stage two feet square, will not hold Barnum's obesities.
From Physiology of The Opera by Swaby, John H.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
