Healthy Weight
One component of good health of a person is his/her body weight. The body weight of a person would depend on many factors which would include the heredity, type of food eaten and the kind of activities undertaken. Now, the question arises regarding the weight of a person. How do I know that my weight would be considered as healthy?
To answer this question, one should understand the different factors involved regarding our body weight and it becomes quite difficult to set an ideal weight for any person.
It is very important to understand that healthy body weight is a range of weights and not one single weight. You should not compare yourself with celebrities because some of them are underweight. Comparison with your family members and friends would also be not very helpful because the weight you might be considering as healthy might not be so healthy at all. There are a number of factors that would help to find out whether your body weight is within the healthy weight range. Some of them are being described below.
Body Mass Index
This index is widely used to find out the healthy weight range of a person. This index is arrived at by dividing the body weight in Kgs by the square of the height of the person in Meters.
A chart below would give you some idea regarding healthy weight:
- Underweight BMI less than 18.5
- Idealp; BMI 18.5-25
- OverweightBMI 25-30
- Obese (should lose weight) BMI 30-40
- Very obese ( lose weight now)BMI greater than 40
Waist measurement
BMI alone would not be a good guide regarding healthy weight and the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Another factor needed to be considered is waist measurement. In fact, waist circumference could provide much accurate measure of future health problems. This measurement would give an idea where you are carrying your excess weight.
A waist circumference which greater than 80 cm for women and 94 cm in men would indicate increased health risk. In case, this circumference is more than 88cm for women and 102cm for men, then immediate attention should be applied towards weight reduction.
Waist-hip ratio
A still better index regarding healthy bodyweight would be this ratio. This is calculated by taking the measurement of waist circumference at the narrowest point of the abdomen and the hip circumference at the widest point.
In case, this ratio is more than 1.0 for men and 0.8 for women, then immediate measure should be taken to reduce weight.