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Journalism of Courage
THE SCALE MIGHT TELL YOU YOUR BODY WEIGHT
but it can8217;t tell you whether you are obese or emaciated.It8217;s a fact of life that people very often have distorted no-tionsof their weight8212;worrying that they are fat whenthey actually aren8217;t or quite sure their weight is just finewhen there8217;s a bomb ticking away inside them. After all,heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure are alllinked to being overweight.
Here8217;s expert advice on how to look at your body weightin the light of the health risks.
What8217;s the problem with using body weight tojudge the state of my health?
The problem is that in health terms, body composition ismore important than body weight: the amount of fat youare carrying, compared with lean meat; your body frameand the size of your bones, and so on. 8220;Two people withthe same high weight for height may have very differenthealth risks,8221; says Ishi Kosla, nutritionist and director,Whole Foods. 8220;One may be obese and have manyweight-related health risks. The other could be fit andmuscular with no related disease risk.8221;
What about the height-weight tables?
The height-weight table is hardly an accurate predictor of howhealthy you are. It8217;s more to do with acceptable appear-ance.8220;Bone structures make a difference and also in-cludeadjustments of the frame,8221; explains Kosla. 8220;Weighttables are quick, easy and cheap, but they ignore bodycomposition and fail to consider other measures ofhealth and fitness.8221;
Any alternatives?
Body Mass Index BMI a term generously used bydoctors to politely tell you about your being over-weight,is the accurate measure. It correlates rea-sonablywell with body fatness and healthrisks. 8220;To measure your BMI measure yourheight without your shoes, andweight with minimal cloth-ing,and thancalculate, using weight inkg divided by the square of yourheight in metres. The answer tells you yourrisk,8221; said Kosla.
So what does BMI show?
It tells you about your overall health. While the perfectanswer would be 23, it can be stretched a bit. Howeverone needs to be alarmed if it is over 30 or 19 and be-low.8220;This means high risk,8221; says Kosla. A BMI of 30 andover increases the risk of death from any cause by 50 to150 percent, according to some estimates. However,leave children, atheletes and lactating and pregnantmothers out of it.
Is this all?
No, it8217;s also important to measure fatness. Where the fatis located is crucial, and your body shape tells you that.Apple shape8212;or android obesity, typical of men8212;means fat deposition around the abdominal fat. A shapelike this in women means increased risk of breast cancer.Pear shape8212;or gynoid obesity8212;is around the hips andthighs. Excess body fat around abdomen is associatedwith higher risk than around thighs and hips.
The index holds true for bothman and women. Though forcosmetic purposes, you maywant to lose a little more, this isthe weight where you have noweight-related health risks.
HEIGHT WEIGHT
48242; 98243; 48 kg
48242; 108243; 50 kg
48242; 118243; 52 kg
58242; 08243; 53 kg
58242; 18243; 55 kg
58242; 28243; 57 kg
58242; 38243; 59 kg
58242; 48243; 61 kg
58242; 58243; 62 kg
58242; 68243; 64 kg
58242; 78243; 66 kg
58242; 88243; 68 kg
58242; 98243; 71 kg
58242; 108243; 73 kg
58242; 118243; 75 kg
CHECK YOUR BMI
It8217;s simple:
BMI = your weight in kg./ height in m. x height in m.
For example:
BMI = 50 kg / 1.62 m. x 1.62 m. = 50 / 2.64 or a BMI of 19!
