How To Get Your BMI into A Healthy Range

September 3, 2009 By 1 Comment

Your body mass index, or as it is known in short BMI is a representation of your health based on your height and weight. Health and Fitness professionals around the world use your BMI to determine whether someone is overweight or clinically obese. It is used as a simple method of working out whether someone’s weight is putting their health and complete Fitness at risk. So just how do you calculate your BMI and how do you know what is considered ‘normal?’

You can find out what your BMI is by entering your weight and height into a BMI calculator, of which there are numerous on the Internet. Alternatively, if you don’t have access to the Internet you can simply visit your GP or local health centre where you’re body mass index can be calculated for you. So if you weigh 137 pounds and your height is 5”6 your BMI will be 22.1, which is within the normal range, meaning your body mass is healthy. A healthy body mass index should fall between 18.5 and 24.9; if yours is over 24.9 then you are considered to be overweight and a person whose body mass is under 18.5 is considered underweight.

BMI-ChartBMI Chart

Your body mass index is important to aspects of your health and Fitness. For example if you are considered to be overweight then you are at a greater risk of developing serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, having a stroke and developing certain cancers.

It is however important to keep in mind that the results of your BMI is only one representation of your measure of health and Fitness. There are many other factors that play an important role in your health and having a healthy BMI doesn’t mean your body is in perfect health. Sometimes it can underestimate body fat in older people and those who have lost muscle fat. In other cases it can sometimes overestimate body fat in athletes and those who have a muscular build. In most cases however you should take it as a good estimate of your weight, so what do you do if you fall into the under or overweight categories? It is important that if you are currently in these categories that you try and get your body mass index into what is classed as ‘normal.’

Losing or gaining weight should be done in a healthy manner. You should start by manipulating the BMI calculator in order to find out how much weight you need to lose or gain. You need to work out where you are currently with your health and where you want to be. Once you are at this stage you can let in some outside help to change your diet, fitness regime and overall health.

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You need a good weight management program that creates a diet plan to suit your taste, an exercise plan that targets your trouble areas and a lifestyle plan that will help you with your weight problem. For example you may be advised that the best diet for you is the low GI diet, which helps you achieve faster weight loss and reduces the chance of re-gaining the weight; it does this by decreasing your body fat not muscle or water mass, it increases satiety and reduces hunger pangs.

As well as being advised on the correct diet you will be advised on the right exercise plan. Some great examples of this are high-paced walking, moderate swimming and cycling.

There is plenty of help available when it comes to reducing your body mass index through the right diet and exercise; all you have to do is make sure that you choose the right plan for your situation. So don’t go it alone, take advantage of the help that is available to you and get a healthy BMI now!

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Make a fitness plan after knowing if you are overweight?

September 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

A sedentary lifestyle coupled with eating disorders is a sure shot way of becoming unhealthy. As we age, our tendency to be involved voluntarily in physical activities reduces. Instead of playing sport, we lounge in front of the television, instead of walking to the next block, we prefer our cars. Face the truth – we let ourselves slowdown and become lazy. Earlier people went on a diet mainly to look good. This was usually in the summer when beaches beckoned and swimming costumes were scrutinized before a full length mirror. Self Image was very important and working out was a great way to get back in shape. To loose those unsightly love handles, a round of golf or tennis did not always do the trick, more painful methods and diets had to be resorted to. There was no correlation of weight and health, and weight loss was always cosmetic.

obese_01_0911_14924aWe have come a long way since those times and our views on treating ungainly body fat have changed. We now understand that problems associated with being over weight are not only cosmetic in nature, but affect complete fitness. Now everybody knows that being over weight or obese can cause serious medical problems. Many of these problems have often been compared to the negative effects of smoking!

It is no surprise then that in the last few years’ research and health studies have concluded being over weight is the second largest cause of preventable diseases. Researches also indicate that excess body fat increases the risk of a person contracting diseases as heart ailments, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer. In fact approximately 300,000 people in the United States alone died last year of illnesses brought on by being over weight. Which has resulted in question being asked whether there is a way to monitor the risk of weight related illnesses?

obese One of the ways for those interested in weight and their physical well being is the calculation of the Body Mass Index (BMI). Simply put, it is the measure of a person’s weight in relation to his height. While BMI does not measure body fat directly, it has been shown to correlate to measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing, and is considered an accurate alternative for body fat measurement. To calculate your BMI, you will need to divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared and multiply that by 703. The formula is:

Weight / [height (in inches)]2 x 703

Your BMI will place you in one of the following categories:

Under weight – BMI <=18.5

Normal weight – BMI 18.5 – 24.9

Over weight – BMI 25.0 – 29.9

Obese – BMI >=30

In addition to BMI, those who have a waist size of more than 40 inches for men, or 35 inches for women, have a higher risk for obesity-related health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

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Many health and lifestyle websites offer BMI calculators for free. You just need to input your weight and height to get a result. If the result of the BMI test is above 25.0, your risk for medical problems is high and you need to consider a weight management program.

Statistics show more that 50% of the population in the United States is over weight and 26% are obese. Alarmingly one in three children in the United States is obese. If you are reading this, it is not too late. With a bit of will power and routine, it is very easy to get back in shape for complete fitness.

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