Why You Should Know Your Waist to Height Ratio

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In addition to the body mass index, the waist to height ratio is another means by which health care professionals estimate an individual's body composition in order to evaluate his overall health.

 

Although the body mass index (BMI) is generally more well known than the waist to height ratio for measuring body composition, many physicians believe this ratio to be the better of the two. This superiority is due to the fact that BMI can be skewed by an individual's frame or quantity of muscle mass. For example, a man with a significant amount of muscle mass may be indexed as overweight or obese by the body mass index even though he has a low level of body fat. In fact, the European Congress on Obesity recently stated that this ratio is the best way to predict a person's risk of serious health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Unlike BMI, the ratio of waist to height is based on waist size, which is the most dangerous place to carry weight (abdominal fat). Specifically, abdominal fat induces insulin resistance with impaired glucose tolerance, leading eventually to diabetes, atherosclerosis, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the waist to height ratio takes into account an individual's frame so a sizeable amount of muscle mass will not skew the results.

How to Determine Your Ratio

First, measure your waist size in inches with a tape measure at the belly button. Do not measure your waist where your pants sit because this is often smaller than your waist at the belly button. It is important to actually measure your waist size and not rely on your pant size because many clothing manufactures actually make their sizes larger than they state on the label to avoid offending customer. Then, divide you waist measurement in inches by your height in inches and multiply by 100.

The following list provides the descriptions of the results:

Any ratio below 35% is underweight. Any ratio between 35 and 43% is healthy (slim). Any ratio between 43 and 53% is healthy. Any ratio between 53 and 58% is overweight. Any ratio between 58 and 63% is seriously overweight, and ratio above 63% is morbidly obese. Consult your physician or weight loss specialist if you fall into the seriously overweight or obese categories. A combination of exercise and healthy eating work best to combat weight gain.

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How Much Should I Weigh For My Age & Height?

Original article date: 23 May 2010, Article updated: 4 March 2014

One of the most common questions received in our feedback emails is "how much should I weigh for my age and height?" In this article, we will explain the most common ways in which this can be calculated. 

 

To determine how much you should weigh (your ideal body weight) several factors should be considered, including age, muscle-fat ratio, height, sex, and bone density. 

Some people suggest that calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way to decide whether your body weight is ideal. Others say that BMI is faulty as it does not account for muscle mass and that waist-hip ratio is better. 

One person's ideal body weight may be completely different from another's. If you compare yourself to family and friends you risk either aiming too high if you are surrounded by obese or overweight people, or too low if everyone around you works as fashion models. 

Even comparing yourself with people outside your immediate surroundings may not work.

The levels of overweight and obesity in one country, such as the USA or UK, are much higher than in The Netherlands. So a Dutch person may aim for a lower ideal weight than an American if all he did was to compare himself to other people. 

A recent study may have turned national guidelines on people’s ideal weight on its head. Researchers found that overweight people have a lower all-cause mortality risk compared to those of normal weight.

Is Body Mass Index (BMI) a good measure?

Your BMI is your weight in relation to your height.

• BMI metric units: Your weight (kilograms) divided by the square of your height (meters)
  e.g. Weight 80 kilograms. Height 1.8 meters.
  1.8² meters = 3.24
  80 divided by 3.24 = BMI 24.69.
• Imperial units: Your weight (pounds) times 703, divided by the square of your height in inches.
  e.g. Weight 190 pounds. Height 6 ft (72 inches)
  72² = 5184
  190 x 703 divided by 5184 = BMI 25.76

Health authorities worldwide mostly agree that:

• People with a BMI of less than 18.5 are underweight.
• A BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is ideal.
• Somebody with a BMI between 25 and 30 is classed as overweight.
• A person with a BMI over 30 is obese.

In some countries health authorities say the lower limit for BMI is 20, anything below it is underweight.

Calculate Your BMI

To calculate your BMI you can use our metric BMI calculator below (requires Flash) or, alternatively, use our more comprehensive BMI Calculator.

What is the problem with BMI?

BMI is a very simple measurement which does not take into account the person's waist, chest or hip measurements. An Olympic 100 meters sprint champion may have a BMI higher than a couch potato of the same height. The couch potato may have a big belly, not much muscle and a lot of body fat on his hips, upper thighs, in his blood and other parts of his body. While the athlete will have a smaller waist, much less body fat, and most likely enjoy better health. According to a purely BMI criteria, the couch potato is healthier. 

BMI does not take into account bone density (bone mass). A person with severe osteoporosis (very low bone density) may have a lower BMI than somebody else of the same height who is healthy, but the person with osteoporosis will have a larger waist, more body fat and weak bones. 

Many experts criticize BMI as not generally useful in evaluation of health. It is at best a rough ballpark basic standard that may indicate population variations, but should not be used for individuals in health care. 

Put simply: experts say that BMI underestimates the amount of body fat in overweight/obese people and overestimates it in lean or muscular people. 

More information on BMI, together with imperial and metric BMI calculators, is available here.

Nick Trefethen, a Professor of Numerical Analysis at Oxford University's Mathematical Institute, has created what he believes to be a better, more accurate and relevant formula than the BMI one for deciding whether people are carrying too much fat. Humans do not grow equally in all three dimensions, he explains - the existing BMI formula presumes we do. 

7 Ways To Avoid Falling Off The Diet Wagon

Keeping up the new healthy diet you’ve just started all year round isn’t easy, so stay aware of some effective ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon. It’s easy to get excited about starting a healthy eating program, but it can be tough when tempted with delicious desserts, big dinner buffets, breakfast room pastries at the office, and holidays. That means you need a secret weapon up your sleeve, like these ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon. Be sure you stay on your toes, and spend the year enjoying being healthy and slim, not riding the diet rollercoaster.

1. Keep Your Focus

One of the best ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon is to keep your focus. You need to remember why you started eating healthy. Just because you’re closer to your goals, or at your goal weight, doesn’t mean you can give it all up. Each time you give in, it makes it easier to backslide in the long haul. Don’t make this mistake! Keep your focus and remember to keep your eye on the prize.

2. Eat Enough

One of the easiest ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon is to be sure you eat enough. Not eating enough can make your blood sugar slip, which will cause you to get hungry and jittery, which makes you reach for anything to eat. This can happen to anyone, so the best way to prevent it is to be sure you eat enough. Eating every 3-4 hours is the best way, as long as you keep your portions in check.

3. Be Reasonable

When it comes to finding ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon, a really helpful one is to be reasonable. That huge piece of cheesecake or big slab of steak might look like the best thing in the world, but be reasonable: it’s just food. It will be gone in a few bites, and you’ll be left feeling guilty. Don’t fall prey to this! It’s fine to indulge once in a blue moon, but too easy to keep slipping when you think about how tasty something would be.

4. Exercise

My favorite way to keep yourself motivated on a diet is to exercise. Most likely, when you’re exercising, you won’t want to ruin your hard efforts by eating junk. You’re more inclined to eat well to support your exercise regimen, and it gives you a better sense of pride in your body.

5. Get Enough Rest

Another way to avoid falling off the diet wagon is to get enough rest. When you’re short on rest, your hormones are out of balance, which can lead you to both overeating, and making poor food choices. Getting enough rest prevents both problems, and it’s so healthy for you! Getting 8-9 hours a night is key. Make it happen, no matter what it takes. You’ll notice a huge rise in your energy, mood, and your diet when you do.

6. Talk It Out

It might help to talk it out with someone if you’re really struggling with your new diet. Find a supportive friend or family member who wants to see you succeed, not one who’s constantly tempting you to cheat. Talking it out with someone supportive can help you greatly decrease the stress around your healthy lifestyle, and can help you keep your eye on the prize.

7. Be Prepared

If you’re not prepared to make healthy food choices before you leave home, it’s easy to cave in to making poor choices. The best way to do this, is to be prepared both mentally, and in the kitchen. Prepare healthy meals and snacks to take with you to work, school, or when running errands. Have a meal prep day once a week if you need to. Also, before you go out to eat, prepare yourself that you have a choice and you can make a good choice in ordering something healthy. The choice is yours, so be prepared that you can and will make the right one for your new lifestyle. You can leave feeling proud, and not guilty, which is one of the best feelings you’ll ever give yourself.

If you’ve just started a healthy diet, congratulations! I’d love to hear any tips you might have for ways to avoid falling off the diet wagon. So let me hear them! What’s your best diet motivation tip?

Source: All Women Talk 

Ideal Weight or Happy Weight?

How much weight do you really need to lose?

Maybe you've been working on getting back to the weight you were at in high school or on your wedding day. But do you really need to go that low? Or can you weigh more than your ideal weight and still be healthy? If you're overweight, losing just 10% of your body weight is linked to many health benefits, including lowering blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood sugar, and reducing your risk for heart disease. This kind of weight loss is also easier to reach and keep for the long run.

Your Weight "Set Point"

Just as your body temperature is programmed to stay around 98.6 degrees, your body weight is naturally regulated to stay within a range of 10%-20%, says Thomas Wadden, PhD, director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at University of Pennsylvania Medical School. This weight range is known as the "set point."

A complex set of hormones, chemicals, and hunger signals help your body keep your weight within this range, says dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD. It is not just about your genes. Your eating and exercise habits can also help to determine your set point.

"Overeating swamps the internal regulatory system, and, as a result, the set point increases -- which is much easier to do than it is to lower it," Wadden says. The body adjusts to the higher weight and "resets" the set point to defend the new weight.  It's still possible to set your range lower. "With changes in healthy eating and exercise behavior, you can lower your set point," says Blatner.

The 10% Solution to Weight Loss

Losing 10% of your body weight, and keeping it off for six months to a year, helps your body reset your set point, notes George Blackburn, MD, in his book, Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off.

When you lose large amounts of weight at once, you set up an internal struggle and hormones spike to make you hungrier as your body tries to defend its comfortable range, Wadden explains. That's why experts recommend losing 10% by changing your eating and exercise habits, and then maintaining your new weight for a few months before trying to lose more. Your body will get the signal to lower its "set point," and you'll get used to new food choices, smaller portions, and regular exercise. 

Blatner says she has seen people who lose 10% of their weight "start to realize how a little weight loss impacts their health in very positive ways... They feel better, sleep better, have more energy or less joint pain, and some people are able to reduce medications."

How Much Should I Weigh?

Most people overestimate how much weight they can lose, which leads to frustration, says Blatner. To find your happy or healthy weight, Blatner suggests looking back on your weight history as an adult and identifying a weight you were able to maintain fairly easily.

 

Source: Web MD

Weight Loss Motivation: Do NOT Obsess Over THIS If You Want to Lose Weight