Body weight - Definition and Overview

Body weight is simply the weight of any animal, including humans. The term is usually encountered in connection with:

• food and feeding behaviour
• normal and abnormal growth and development
• the physiological and hormonal control of ingestion and digestion
• foraging for food in non-human animals
• hunger and other motivations to eat
• problems in regulating body weight, often resulting in obesity
• eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa
• effects of disease