Determine Healthy Body Weight

  Knowing how to determine healthy body weight is useful if you are trying to lose weight and need to know how much weight you should lose.  One way of doing this is by using a height and weight chart but a more accurate method is by calculating your BMI (body mass index).

Your BMI is simple to work out using a BMI calculator that many websites have or by using this simple formula.  Firstly measure your height in metres and then multiply this figure by itself.  The second step is to measure your weight in kilograms.  Then divide the weight by the height squared.

So if you were 1.6m tall and weighed 65kg:

1.6x1.6=2.56.  BMI would be 65 divided by 2.56=25.39.

A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered to be underweight.  18.5-25 is in the ideal weight range while a BMI of 25-30 is overweight and over 30 is very overweight.  The BMI is a useful tool but results can be skewed by factors such as age, pregnancy and if you are very muscular.

Many health professionals now prefer to use the waist-hip ratio to determine who is at risk from obesity and heart disease.  The waist measurement is taken at your narrowest point around your abdomen and the hip circumference at the widest point.  A reading that is greater than 1 for a man and 0.8 for a woman means that you may be in danger and should improve your diet and reduce weight.

A further measure that is often used is waist measurement.  People who store fat around their midriff have been shown to be at a higher risk for heart disease and diabetes.  A waist circumference that is greater than 32” for a woman and 37” for a man is an indication of potential risk while measurements greater than 35” for a woman and 40” for a man would be seen as very worrying.