I recently did some research for an article that was requested by several readers to my website. The question was, Am I Overweight? This got me thinking about how we determine healthy weight and the tools we use such as the healthy weight chart.
In my article I explain the differences between the different methods of calculating the healthy weight range of an individual using the healthy weight chart.
The healthy weight chart or height weight chart can give a result that leaves some people confused.
Let me explain. These two tools are used as a basis for the calculation of the well known BMI measurement system for measuring Body Mass Index.
If you are not familiar with these charts you may well have seen one pinned to your doctor's wall in his surgery, but this method of calculating healthy body mass is not without its critics.
The problem is that some people especially those who are taller than the average person, can be given a false sense of security when using the height weight chart as a measure of healthy weight.
The healthy weight of an individual can vary and the height weight chart is intended to be used as a guideline to determine if a man or woman is in the healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system is a collection of data from many thousands of people worldwide and is designed using an average of many different people's data.
For most people the height weight chart gives quite an accurate indication of where you are within the band of the healthy weight range.
So is the height weight chart a reliable indicator of healthy weight?
Be aware that these simple tools can produce some misleading results for some people:
We identified a subject (over 6 foot in height) who has now been assessed as being at risk of fatty liver disease, even though his healthy weight range score indicated otherwise. This is an example of the problems with this simple system.
When fat is accumulated in the middle abdominal area it can increase the probability of fatty liver disease.
Men with an abdominal circumference of above 40 inches who are over 6 feet tall could be mislead as they may be considered in the overweight but not at risk category according to their BMI using the healthy weight chart.
Conclusion: Many practitioners are now moving towards the use of body fat percentage as a safer and more reliable method of calculating health risks relating to being overweight.
In my article I explain the differences between the different methods of calculating the healthy weight range of an individual using the healthy weight chart.
The healthy weight chart or height weight chart can give a result that leaves some people confused.
Let me explain. These two tools are used as a basis for the calculation of the well known BMI measurement system for measuring Body Mass Index.
If you are not familiar with these charts you may well have seen one pinned to your doctor's wall in his surgery, but this method of calculating healthy body mass is not without its critics.
The problem is that some people especially those who are taller than the average person, can be given a false sense of security when using the height weight chart as a measure of healthy weight.
The healthy weight of an individual can vary and the height weight chart is intended to be used as a guideline to determine if a man or woman is in the healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system is a collection of data from many thousands of people worldwide and is designed using an average of many different people's data.
For most people the height weight chart gives quite an accurate indication of where you are within the band of the healthy weight range.
So is the height weight chart a reliable indicator of healthy weight?
Be aware that these simple tools can produce some misleading results for some people:
We identified a subject (over 6 foot in height) who has now been assessed as being at risk of fatty liver disease, even though his healthy weight range score indicated otherwise. This is an example of the problems with this simple system.
When fat is accumulated in the middle abdominal area it can increase the probability of fatty liver disease.
Men with an abdominal circumference of above 40 inches who are over 6 feet tall could be mislead as they may be considered in the overweight but not at risk category according to their BMI using the healthy weight chart.
Conclusion: Many practitioners are now moving towards the use of body fat percentage as a safer and more reliable method of calculating health risks relating to being overweight.
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If you would like to learn more about healthy weight see this article Healthy Weight Chart
