What is The Right Weight For You ?

                   


There are two main ways which health professionals use to determine whether you are overweight and whether it is a risk.

  • Body Mass Index
  • Waist Circumference

 

Body Mass Index

Your Body Mass Index is essentially your weight compared to your height. This is used to estimate the health risks associated with being over or underweight. Health professionals have determined what the proper weights should be for certain heights. Notice that for each height there is a range of weight. That’s because there are other factors involved.


Enter in your height and weight to see where you fall. Remember, if you are a muscular person a high BMI does not necessarily indicate being overweight, since the extra weight might be muscle not fat.


Waist Circumference


Abdominal fat has been associated with many health risks compared with fat in other parts of the body especially in the arteries of your heart. That is why it is an important part of assessing if you have the proper weight.


To measure waist circumference, get a measuring tape and wrap it around your stomach at the top of you upper-right hip bone. The tape should be snug but not compress your skin. The measurement should be taken at the end of a normal breath following exhalation.


If your waist circumference is greater than 40 inches (male) (or 102 cm ) or 35 inches (female) ( 88 cm ) you are considered overweight.

 

Presence or Risk of Heart Disease


If you have any of these diseases you may need to lose weight,

  • Coronary Heart Disease
  • Symptomatic or Confirmed Carotid Artery Disease
  • Peripheral Arterial Disease
  • Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
  • Type 2 Diabetes
  • Sleep Apnea


If you meet any of this criteria you are at risk,

  • Male 45 or older
  • Female 55 or older (Post-menopausal woman)
  • One or more members of your immediate family had premature (before 55 in a male and 65 in a female) severe heart attack or sudden death assumed to be heart-related.
  • If you smoke
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood levels of LDL (low density lipoprotein) “bad” cholesterol
  • Low blood levels of HDL (high density lipoprotein) “good” cholesterol (less than 30 in a male or 50 in a female)
  • High LDL particle number
  • High blood glucose

Other Ways of Determining if You are Overweight


Measurement of fat under the skin is an accurate test done my health professionals with skinfold calipers or infrared or ultrasound devices. Several measurements must be taken at different locations on the body for the best accuracy.

Measurement of whole body size and density is one of the most common methods used. It is done either underwater (hydrostatic) or by weighing and air displacement (“Bod Pod”).

Biometric impedance analysis is done using electricity measuring how much your body fat impedes the imperceptible electrical signal. This will calculate lean body mass and body fat.
(We have an instrument made by Tanita that does this. Ask when you are in the office).

 

Maintain A Healthy Weight

Once you have a better idea of what your proper weight should be, the next step is getting to that weight and maintaining it. Your Basal Metabolic Rate will be a good guide to you in this.

Basal Metabolic Rate is the energy (measured in calories) expended by your body to perform normal bodily functions. Put in your height, weight and how much you exercise and it will give you a guideline on how many calories you should eat each day. How many calories you should eat to maintain your weight or lose a pound a week.


Overall, many authorities believe that too much public health emphasis is placed on losing excessive weight instead of just focusing on a healthy lifestyle. Once again, lifestyle needs to be the main focus, not a get slim quick diet plan. You need a realistic practical way to maintain a healthy weight and good nutrition. This will probably mean you will have to change what you eat and how often you exercise.

 


Resources


Gaesser GA. Obesity, health, and metabolic fitness. http://www.mesomorphosis.com/articles/gaesser/obesity.htm, accessed 5/10/2004.

Prentice AM, Jebb SA. Beyond body mass index. Obes Rev 2001;2:141–7.