One of the commonest mistakes people make in weight loss circles is trying to make judgments about the healthiness or otherwise of their weight by just looking at the figures that their weighing scales show them. This is a situation where, for instance, you will hear a person arguing that they are overweight just because their weighing scale registered 160 pound the last time they stepped on it, or that they have lost enough weight because they have moved from 200 to 160 on the pound scale; without taking into consideration the other factors that go into judging what is healthy or unhealthy in terms of weight.
The truth of the matter is that there is no weight figure that can be said to be ideal or not ideal for anyone, for the simple reason that 'healthy weight' is relative - and dependent on a number of factors, one of which is, of course, the height of the person in question. What might be considered a healthy weight for a very tall person might therefore not be a very healthy weight figure for a relatively shorter person, hence the fallibility of the 'absolutionist' approach to weight, where people attempt to make judgments as to how healthy or unhealthy their weight is by just looking at the weighing scales. What the body mass index (BMI) does, then, is to introduce the height factor into the weight loss effort, in attempting to find out what - in objective terms - an ideal weight for a particular person should be.
A person's body mass index is therefore a ratio arrived at by dividing a person's body weight by their height. To calculate your own body mass index - which would provide us with a better picture as to whether or not you really need weight loss - all you have to do is first find out what your body weight is (in kilogram), followed by what your height is (in meters), then square the height figure, and divide your kilogram weight by it (in the format BMI = weight in kilograms/(height in meters)2.
The figure that you obtain by dividing weight by height is a better guide as to whether or not weight loss is something you need than the figure you would get by just looking at the weighing scale only. If the figure you obtain after dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters squared is anything between 20.1 and 25 - and you are a man, then your weight is ideal, and you only need to take measures to ensure a healthy body weight - rather than weight loss measures - because you really don't need to lose weight (at least from a medical point of view).
If the figure you obtain after dividing you're your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters on the other hand is anything between 18.7 and 23.8 - and you are a woman, then weight loss is not something you might be in need of (as your weight is ideal); though you might consider maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime to maintain the ideal weight you currently have.
The body mass index offers a better guide as to whether you really need to lose weight given the fact that weight tends to be relative, and even from a common sense point of view, a 6 foot person weighing 90 kilograms might not sound (and look) as outrageous as a four foot person weighing the same.
The truth of the matter is that there is no weight figure that can be said to be ideal or not ideal for anyone, for the simple reason that 'healthy weight' is relative - and dependent on a number of factors, one of which is, of course, the height of the person in question. What might be considered a healthy weight for a very tall person might therefore not be a very healthy weight figure for a relatively shorter person, hence the fallibility of the 'absolutionist' approach to weight, where people attempt to make judgments as to how healthy or unhealthy their weight is by just looking at the weighing scales. What the body mass index (BMI) does, then, is to introduce the height factor into the weight loss effort, in attempting to find out what - in objective terms - an ideal weight for a particular person should be.
A person's body mass index is therefore a ratio arrived at by dividing a person's body weight by their height. To calculate your own body mass index - which would provide us with a better picture as to whether or not you really need weight loss - all you have to do is first find out what your body weight is (in kilogram), followed by what your height is (in meters), then square the height figure, and divide your kilogram weight by it (in the format BMI = weight in kilograms/(height in meters)2.
The figure that you obtain by dividing weight by height is a better guide as to whether or not weight loss is something you need than the figure you would get by just looking at the weighing scale only. If the figure you obtain after dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters squared is anything between 20.1 and 25 - and you are a man, then your weight is ideal, and you only need to take measures to ensure a healthy body weight - rather than weight loss measures - because you really don't need to lose weight (at least from a medical point of view).
If the figure you obtain after dividing you're your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters on the other hand is anything between 18.7 and 23.8 - and you are a woman, then weight loss is not something you might be in need of (as your weight is ideal); though you might consider maintaining a healthy diet and exercise regime to maintain the ideal weight you currently have.
The body mass index offers a better guide as to whether you really need to lose weight given the fact that weight tends to be relative, and even from a common sense point of view, a 6 foot person weighing 90 kilograms might not sound (and look) as outrageous as a four foot person weighing the same.
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1 comment:
Interesting post, definitely the body mass index offers a better guide as to whether you really need to lose weight. It offers a more logical way to judge if you are really overweight.
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