Maintaining a healthy weight can be difficult – especially at this time of year with extra temptations in the form of christmas cake, plum pudding and mince pies, not to mention the brandy butter and cream. But what exactly is a healthy weight, and why should you aim to remain at this level?
Why maintain a healthy weight?
A healthy weight is one that does not increase your risk of developing certain conditions linked with excess flab, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal blood cholesterol levels, hardening and furring up of the arteries, stroke and coronary heart disease. Those who are overweight are one and a half times more likely to have a heart attack than someone who maintains a healthy weight, for example. In contrast, getting down to the healthy weight range for your height can reduce your risk of a heart attack by over 50%.
Other health problems linked with obesity include:
Gout
Gall stones
Constipation
Diverticular disease
Indigestion and heartburn
Back pain
Osteoarthritis
Period problems
Infertility
Pregnancy complications
Varicose veins
Haemorrhoids
Shortness of breath
Sleep apnoea
Anxiety and depression
Eating disorders
Possibly some cancers
How is overweight measured?
Body fat stores are estimated using the Body Mass Index (BMI). This is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared.
This gives a figure which is interpreted as follows:
less than 20 Underweight
20-25 Healthy weight
25-30 Overweight
30-40 Obese
more than 40 Severe obesity
Therefore, the healthy weight for you is one where the BMI is between 20 and 25kg.
BMI calculation is only occasionally misleading. For example, body builders with unusual high muscle mass may have a BMI of up to 30 without being obese. Unfortunately, overweight is becoming increasingly common and it is estimated that, by the year 2005, as many as 1 in 5 men and 1 in 4 women will be obese.
Obesity is due to a number of different factors working together, including the amount you eat, the amount of exercise you take and the genes you have inherited. Your genes help to control your metabolic rate and how efficiently you convert excess energy to body fat stores. Family eating habits and activity behaviour are also important. If both your parents are obese you have a 70% chance of obesity too, compared with less than 20% if both your parents are lean.
What is your healthy weight?
The following chart gives you a good idea of the healthy weight range for the average adult, according to your height. If your weight falls above the range given for your height, try to lose weight slowing and steadily until your weight falls within the healthy range.
Height(m) Height (feet) Weight (kg) Weight (stones)
1.47 4'10" 43 - 54 6st 11 - 8st 7lb
1.50 4'11 45 - 56 7st 1 - 8st 11lb
1.52 5ft 46 - 58 7st 3 – 9st 2lb
1.55 5'1" 48 - 60 7st 8 – 9st 7lb
1.57 5'2" 49 - 62 7st 10 – 9st 11lb
1.60 5'3" 51 - 64 8st – 10st 1lb
1.63 5'4" 53 - 66 8st 5 – 10st 6lb
1.65 5'5" 54 - 68 8st 7 - 10st 10lb
1.68 5'6" 56 - 70 8st 12 - 11 st
1.70 5'7" 58 - 72 9st 1 - 11st 4lb
1.73 5'8" 60 - 75 9st 6 - 11st 10lb
1.75 5'9" 61 - 76 9st 9lb - 12st
1.78 5'10" 63 - 79 9st 13 - 12st 6lb
1.80 5'11" 65 - 81 10st 3 - 12st 9lb
1.83 6'0 67 - 83 10st 7 - 13st 1lb
1.85 6'1" 69 - 85 10st 11 - 13st 5lb
1.88 6'2" 71 - 88 11st 2 - 13st 12lb
1.90 6'3" 72 - 90 11st 5 - 14st 2lb
1.93 6'4" 75 - 93 11st 10 - 14st 8lb
Waist size
Where your excess weight is stored is also important, however. If you are overweight and store fat round your middle (apple shaped), you are twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease - especially if this runs in your family. Research suggests that men with a waist circumference larger than 102cm and women with a waist circumference larger than 88cm are more likely to have shortness of breath, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and diabetes than those with slimmer waistlines. Slight waist reductions of just 5cm – 10cm significantly reduced the risk of having a heart attack.
So what are you waiting for? If you are overweight, try to lose excess flab at a sensible rat of 0.5kg to 1kg per week by following a healthy eating plan and increasing your level of physical activity.
