|
The degree of the overweight can be more or less exactly estimated. The method for the organization of the different severity levels of the overweight, which can be determined most simply, is the calculation of the Body Mass Index.
The BMI is a number calculated from a person’s weight and height. Here is a recommended BMI range Chart| Underweight | BMI under 18.5 | | Ideal | BMI 18.5-25 | | Overweight | BMI 25-30 | | Obese - should lose weight | BMI 30-40 | | Very obese - lose weight now | BMI over 40 |
NOTE: The BMI is not an accurate indicator for people who are very muscular, such as athletes, partly because muscle is proportionally heavier than fat. If you are very well muscled or very athletic, your BMI category can appear artificially great although you actually have a healthy amount of body fat. On the other end of the spectrum, it is not accurate for very frail people, nor is it a good indicator for pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Basically, the BMI is only one indicator of health, and needs to be considered along with a range of other factors such as:
• blood pressure
• body fat percentage
• cholesterol
• healthiness of your diet
• physical activity
• resting heart rate
• smoking
• waist measurement
You need to look at the entire picture, not just one indicator of health.
Measuring your waist is another way to check if your weight is healthy. If your waist is over 32 inches (80 cm) for a woman or 37 inches (94 cm) for a man, you should avoid gaining any more weight. Even as little as an extra 3 inches (8cm) indicates you could reap valuable health benefits by losing some weight.
But even measuring both BMI and your waist won’t give as complete a picture of your health as a range of the factors above. You must look at health as an overall picture.
When a doctor calculates your size, they do this by measuring your body’s height and weight, and converting this to a BMI. They do this by a calculation that is typically your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches squared - multiplying by 705. This is the body mass index (BMI). It’s used because scientific research shows that the people who live longest and have the best record of health tend to be within a particular range of BMI. You can check whether you have a healthy weight for your height using our body mass index calculator, available in both metric and imperial versions.
|
There is no such thing as an ideal weight for all. Bodies are all different and every person is unique – so the healthy weight for you as an individual will be something assessed depending on several different factors. 
Your Weight 
