How to Determine a Healthy Body Weight

Everywhere we look in the western world we are inundated with
pictures, images, icons and inferences of the ‘perfect’ female
shape! The truth is that many of these images are altered or
enhanced in some way and do not depict the typical female form.
The pressure to lose weight is immense when we are bombarded
every day with media selling products based on slimness, sex
appeal and fashion. The constant message is that slimness will
make you desireable.

With the current demographic trends in western countries, and
faced with a sea of high fat, high sugar combined with physical
inactivity; it is time to pay attention to our weight but not
for any reasons of desirability. The most important reason for
wanting to be a healthy body weight is for health rather than
for how your body looks.

Overweight and obesity are major public health problems in
western countries. Since the 1980s both adult men and women have
become heavier, with obesity rates more than doubling in the
last 20 years! Children are also becoming heavier. There is a
growing concern that we are inadvertently training our
overweight children to become obese adults. It has been said, we
are digging our graves with out teeth! So just why should we be
concerned with achieving a healthy body weight?

Overweight linked with diabetes.

In January 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association
featured two studies that highlighted the topic of obesity and
its impact on health. The first study focused on the
relationship between obesity and diabetes, as well as the
growing concern of diabetes in the U.S. between the years 2000
and 2001. The numbers don’t look good, with an alarming 5.6%
increase of obesity in both men and women-from all ethnic
groups, age ranges and educational levels. The occurrence of
diabetes also increased-up 8.2% from 2000.

Overweight linked with premature death.

The second study found that obesity appears to markedly lessen
life expectancy, especially among young adults. The researchers
compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to longevity and found a
correlation between premature death and higher BMIs. For
example, a 20-year-old white male, 5’10″ weighing 288 pounds
with a BMI of greater than 40 was estimated to lose 13 years of
his life as a result of obesity. Findings were similar for women
with higher BMIs, who were estimated to lose an average of eight
years. While these studies reference extreme levels of obesity,
there are still millions of overweight people in developed
countries with a life expectancy rate that is three to five
years less than their healthy-weight counterparts. Overweight
linked with heart disease.

Overweight people tend to have higher blood pressure and higher
blood cholesterol, which are major risk factors for heart attack
and other blood vessel disease. Being overweight can contribute
to problems in the joints, and is also associated with other
serious diseases such as diabetes.

How you tell if you are overweight

As we are all different shapes and sizes, there is not one
recommended weight for your height. Instead there is a range of
weights that are healthy for your height. One way to check your
weight is to calculate your Body Mass Index or BMI.

Your BMI is a ratio or comparison of your height and weight
expressed in a number. To find out your BMI you need to divide
your weight (measured in kg) by your height (measured in m)
squared. If you do not know your measurements in the metric
system you can find any number of BMI calculators online that
will do the conversion for you into empirical measures. One such
calculator is at the website listed below.

The accepted definitions of weight categories by BMI are:

Underweight – BMI less than 18.5 Healthy weight – BMI between
18.5 and 24.9 Overweight – BMI equal to or greater than 25 and
up to 29.9 Obese – BMI equal to or greater than 30

These BMI values only apply to adults aged 18 years and over and
are based on studies of Caucasian populations. Therefore, they
are not applicable to children and adolescents and they may not
be appropriate for people of other cultural backgrounds.

Another way to check your weight is to measure your waist
circumference, using a tape measure. This gives you an idea of
whether you have a lot of fat stored around your middle. Waist
circumferences associated with increased health risk are:

For men Waist circumference greater than 94cm For women Waist
circumference greater than 80cm

Being a healthy weight can help:

- improve blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood
glucose levels – reduce your risk of other health related
problems – improve self confidence and self esteem – make it
easier to be physically active.

If you are obese or overweight…try not to gain additional
weight. This will help you in years to come as people tend to
increase weight with age. Better still look after your body and
follow a healthy lifestyle incorporating a nutritious,
delicious, health enhancing weight loss program. Just by losing
10 pounds you can significantly improve your overall health.

(c)Kim Beardsmore

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