A lot depends on your metabolism, and frankly your genetic make-up. Some people are just designed to be heavier than others. Screw the calipers. Too much depends on how it's performed and the quality of the instrument used.

BMI is old school. If you want to know if you're really overweight, check out these techniques:

http://www.new-fitness.com/body_fat_analyzing.html

Also, I have heard that many body builders, if you go according to the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart, would be considered "overweight". But couch potatoes they are not!

I don't put much stock in those charts, some of which have ideals that are unrealistic for some people (depending on their build and muscle tone). Ultimately, everyone has to go on how they feel.

I see plenty of overweight people at the gym. Problem is they stop at Wendy's afterwords to pickup a triple burger, fries and a frosty. They feel justified because they just got done exercising.

Glandular disorder....diabetic...menopause....bum leg....mom always made me clean my plate when I was a kid...mid-life crisis...
What did I miss?

The more likely assumption is that overweight people do too much exercise with a fork in one hand.

Weight gain and weight loss has a lot more to do with what you put in your mouth, than how much sweating you do or don't do.

I am far from overweight, but I know where these people are coming from. Just because someone is overweight doesn't mean they eat 100 meals a day. Or it doesn't mean they don't try to exercise. They could have a medical condition that causes them to look so big. It can also be that they just have a very slow metabolism.

I've been a skinny white guy all my life. I don't excercise, I damn sure don't eat right, and Heaven knows that beer has a lot of calories. On the flip side I've known a lot of overweight guys, and girls, that seem to always be excercising and watching what they eat or drink. So I think that genes come into play as much as anything.

There might be a very valid reason why an individual can't lose weight. Maybe they have a medical problem. On the other hand, laziness could also be the reason, but it's really not very bright to look at someone and assume why they're overweight.

I am a bit overweight, and I don't exercise enough, but that doesn't make it true of everyone. But as others have said, eating too much has a lot more to do with it for many people, including myself.

Not all of them but certainly most of them.

Fat girls are the best...and I truely mean that.  There has been more than once in my life when I was surrounded by one. Mmmmmm.... 

Depends. Some overweight people do a lot of exercise, but then, they eat more than when they don't do exercise. It balances off.

I've been overweight all my life and although I've lost 30 lbs. I still look relatively fat. Unfortunately, some people assume that if one is fat, one is lazy, which is not true. I work out 4-5X a week and watch what I eat.