What is a healhy weight to maintain?
Generally, most people know when they are overweight or underweight by just looking at themselves or by how tight or loose their belt or clothes feel to them, rather than having to calculate their ideal body weight by some formula, but using the formula for calculating Body Mass Index (BMI) can be a useful guide to use and allow any particular person to set an ideal and healthy traget weight to achieve and maintain.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height in meters. Generally a healthy BMI is between 18 to 24. Body Mass Index of 25-30 is considered overweight, and from 30-35 is considered obese and starts posing health risks, while BMIs beyond 35 increase even more one’s health risk from the complications of obesity. A BMI below 18 is considered underweight but this can be slightly adjusted for a certain population, for example young females in Viet Nam can run below 18 into a BMI of 16-17 and have no signs or symtpoms of malnourishment, and are likely at their ideal body weight.
An example of calculating your Body Mass Index is;
You are 1.70 meters tall, therefore 1.7 is squared or 1.7 X 1.7 = 2.89
You weigh 60 kg, so 60 kg is divided by 2.89 and comes out to a BMI of 20.76, a healthy and ideal BMI for this height and weight.
This formula can then allow you to set an ideal target weight to achieve if you are concerned about being overweight or obese.
Mark L. Siefring M.D. M.S. ABIM
Generally, most people know when they are overweight or underweight by just looking at themselves or by how tight or loose their belt or clothes feel to them, rather than having to calculate their ideal body weight by some formula, but using the formula for calculating Body Mass Index (BMI) can be a useful guide to use and allow any particular person to set an ideal and healthy traget weight to achieve and maintain.
The Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height in meters. Generally a healthy BMI is between 18 to 24. Body Mass Index of 25-30 is considered overweight, and from 30-35 is considered obese and starts posing health risks, while BMIs beyond 35 increase even more one’s health risk from the complications of obesity. A BMI below 18 is considered underweight but this can be slightly adjusted for a certain population, for example young females in Viet Nam can run below 18 into a BMI of 16-17 and have no signs or symtpoms of malnourishment, and are likely at their ideal body weight.
An example of calculating your Body Mass Index is;
You are 1.70 meters tall, therefore 1.7 is squared or 1.7 X 1.7 = 2.89
You weigh 60 kg, so 60 kg is divided by 2.89 and comes out to a BMI of 20.76, a healthy and ideal BMI for this height and weight.
This formula can then allow you to set an ideal target weight to achieve if you are concerned about being overweight or obese.
Mark L. Siefring M.D. M.S. ABIM