Healthy Eating for Busy People - Dietriffic.comHealthy Eating Advice from a Professional

The World Health Organisation (WHO) state, “Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability”, they continue that “Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer”.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is one way you can determine if your present weight is putting your health at risk. BMI does not, however, take into account the actual amount of fat a person is carrying and therefore must be interpreted with care.

BMI is calculated by taking your weight (kilograms) and dividing it by your height (meters) squared. If you know your current height and weight, you can work out which weight range you are in by clicking here.

These are the weight ranges, set by the World Health Organisation:

• If your BMI is less than 18.4 you are underweight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 you’re an ideal weight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 25 and 29.9 you’re over the ideal weight for your height.
• If your BMI is between 30 and 39.9 you are obese.
• If your BMI is over 40 you are very obese.

If you have a BMI above 25 you do need to think about losing weight, otherwise you are at an increased risk of serious health problems now and in the future. If you’re over 30 years of age you need to make some big changes to your lifestyle to decrease your weight.

Important points to remember:

• When calculating BMI take into account your body frame and your build - BMI may not be accurate if you are a weight-trainer or an athlete, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• BMI may also be distorted by such factors as fitness level, gender, and ethnicity.
• BMI may not be accurate if you are over the age of 60. This is because your bones may begin to weigh less as you get older.

What other factors, besides BMI, do you need to consider?

• Distribution of body fat - risk is greater for people who carry most of their weight around the abdomen (apple-shaped) rather than on the hips and thighs (pear-shaped).
• Family history - there will be a greater risk to those whose relatives have heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.
• Other health conditions which you suffer from.
• Age - those who are very young and overweight may experience more serious health conditions in later years.

Waist circumference is an excellent way of checking your fat distribution. Carrying too much weight around your abdomen increases your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. Use the table below to see if you are at risk of ill health.

To measure your waist circumference, find the bottom of your ribs and the top of your hips (for many people this will be your tummy button).

You may be at a greater health risk if your waist circumference is more than:

• 32 inches (80cm) for European and Asian women
• 37 inches (94cm) for European men
• 36 inches (90cm) for Asian men

Personally I feel that BMI and waist circumference measurements are very useful tools to indicate an individual’s long-term goals, however we ought to interpret the calculations carefully and realise that they can only give us an indication of health risk and that there are other factors to consider along-side.

Please feel free to contact me with any queries or suggestions!

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You may also like to read the following:

• What is Diabetes?
• Diabetes - How Important is Weight Loss?
• Heart Health Links