There may be a lot of talk about an "obesity epidemic", but we don't usually discuss the amount of people who are not obese, but are still overweight. Those few extra pounds may not seem like much, but they can have a negative effect on overall health and life expectancy. So how do you know what your weight should be and if maybe you should be looking into a home diet plan?
You can check yourself against the ideal body weight, or IBW. This is your target weight based on age, sex and height. There are several formulas that can help you determine what your ideal weight should be. Dr. Steven Halls has a web page listing several ideal weight calculators: the Metropolitan Life tables, "people's choice", a medically recommended range of healthy weights and other IBW formulas.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is also used by some doctors as a guide. Using your height and weight, the BMI estimates your body fat. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has a calculator to help compute body mass index. The BMI categories are:
- Obesity: BMI = 30 or greater, a person is considered obese
- Overweight: BMI between 25 and 29, is considered overweight
- Normal weight: your BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9
- Underweight: people with a BMI of less than 18.5 are considered underweight
Maintaining Ideal Weight
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 33.9% of adults aged 20 and over are obese. The percentage of adults aged 20+ who are overweight (but not obese) is 34.4%. This means almost 70% of U.S. adults are not in a healthy weight range. This puts the majority of adults at a higher risk for disease such as diabetes heart disease, osteoarthritis, stroke and others. The medical community estimates that losing 5-10% of body weight can improve health and lead to an overall feeling of wellness.
Here are a few suggestions to help in maintaining ideal weight:
- Learn to balance energy used against your calorie intake. If your calorie intake is high, then your energy use must be high as well.
- Maintain a healthy balance of activity and inactivity. Do not overexert yourself to the point of doing more harm than good and use condition and age-apppropriate excercises to help you burn excess fat.
- Consider the use of weight loss supplements to help you boost your metabolism and increase your antioxidant levels.
Maintaining your ideal body weight is much easier when you have a support community. Asking others who have been successful tips on what they did to achieve their idea goal will help. Both your mind and body health will benefit greatly by finding what works best for you.
Sasha Paul makes online weight loss research part of her home weight loss program and home diet plan as she works on weight loss at home. With their scientifically-based well-balanced weight loss program, the SlimGenics weight loss program helps you lose weight and lose weight fast.
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