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What is ideal body weight? Why is it important to maintain ideal body weight?

An ideal weight is the weight that is proportional to your height and gender and is within a set range. In order to determine whether your goals are within a healthy range, you need to evaluate them. This measure is exclusively used for adults. 

Maintaining ideal body weight is essential for reducing your risk of developing chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, gallstones, breathing problems and high blood pressure. Furthermore, it can reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, such as those that affect the breasts, prostates, lungs, colons, and kidneys. 

It is crucial to maintain a healthy weight ratio because it lowers your chances of developing these problems, boosts your self-confidence, enhances your self-esteem, and gives you more energy throughout the day to perform your tasks better.

What happens when you are underweight? 

Underweight people are more likely to get sick often, or feel fatigued all the time. The reason may be that their diet doesn’t provide them with enough nutrients. In addition, one may notice that their hair thins or falls out, their skin gets very dry, and their teeth become sensitive.

Being underweight can lead to health problems including: Osteoporosis, infections, which are harder to fight off, Anaemia, irregular periods in women, or menstruation may stop altogether, pregnancy problems and heart problems.

There are, however, several factors that determine an individual’s ideal body weight. A number of factors contribute to this, such as age, gender, height, body shape, and muscle-fat ratio. In order to measure body weight, the Body Mass Index (BMI) is often used. In order to determine body weight accurately, we recommend using Body Composition Analysis (BCA), which gives out the amount of fat in the body and how it is distributed throughout the body. 

Usually, BMI indicates body fatness, which can cause health problems. BMI is scored accordingly as mentioned below in the table.

 

 BMI Kg/m²                   Category

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5–24.9 Normal weight
25.0–29.9 Pre-obesity
30.0–34.9 Obesity class I
35.0–39.9 Obesity class II
Above 40 Obesity class III

 

Setting goals is one of the most important aspects of losing weight. A number of factors need to be taken into account, including an ideal body weight. Setting realistic goals and meeting them can be made easier with a good understanding of ideal body weight. 

 

Sources:

“Maintain a Healthy Weight.” NHLBI, https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/index.htm. Accessed 10 November 2022.

“Estimating ideal body weight–a new formula.” PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16105412/. Accessed 10 November 2022.

“What to do if you are underweight.” Healthdirect, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/what-to-do-if-you-are-underweight. Accessed 10 November 2022.

A healthy lifestyle – WHO recommendations, 6 May 2010, https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/a-healthy-lifestyle—who-recommendations. Accessed 10 November 2022.

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