Achieving a Healthy Weight
What is a Healthy Weight?
Every person has an ideal weight that is best for him or her. However, a measurement called Body Mass Index (BMI) is often used to classify a person as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. BMI is based on a calculation of weight and height. Still, BMI is not reliable for everyone. For example, it does not account for pregnant women or people with a very high muscle mass.
Click here to calculate your own BMI
In addition to BMI, the distribution of body fat is also important to consider when it comes to what is healthy. Fat that accumulates around the waist and chest (what's called abdominal adiposity) may be more dangerous for long-term health than fat that accumulates elsewhere. Some studies suggest that abdominal fat plays a role in the development of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and heart disease. A good way to measure this factor is waist circumference: more than 35 inches in females and 40 inches in males indicates an increased risk.
Benefits of a Healthy Weight
Overweight and Obesity are risk factors for several chronic diseases and conditions. Even a slight weight loss (5-10%) can significantly reduce your risk for developing diseases like diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke. In addition to a reducing the chances of getting a chronic disease, achieving a healthy weight also increases energy and reduces stress.
Understanding Weight Gain
Whether you want to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, it's important to understand the connection between the calories your body takes in (through the foods you eat and the beverages you drink) and the calories your body uses (through normal body functions, daily activities and physical activity).
- When more calories are taken in than calories used, they are stored as fat, resulting in weight gain. When more calories are used than taken in, weight is lost.
- Healthy weight loss is ½ pound to 2 pounds per week. This means either reducing calorie intake by 500 calories per day or increasing physical activity to burn 500 extra calories per day.
To estimate your daily calorie needs, visit http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm
Recommendations for Effective Weight Loss
- Read food nutrition labels – know how much of a food is a serving (it is not necessarily the whole package!)
- Visit MyPyramid.gov for information on smart choices for every food group
- Know what a portion looks like
- Eat breakfast – you will be less likely to overeat later in the day
- Keep healthy snacks on hand
- Drink lots of water and less soda and juice - hundreds of calories per day can come from beverages
- Limit your consumption of salt, sugar and saturated fat
- Choose activities that you enjoy. You will be more likely to stick with them.
- Incorporate physical activity into your daily life: take the stairs or walk to work.
- 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, such as a brisk walk, on all or most days is recommended
- Activities such as gardening, walking, mowing the lawn and vacuuming can also be great physical activity
