I recently did some research for an article that was requested by several readers to my website. The question was, Am I Overweight? This got me thinking about how we determine healthy weight and the tools we use such as the healthy weight chart.
In my article I explain the differences between the different methods of calculating the healthy weight range of an individual using the healthy weight chart.
There are several names for the healthy weight chart, some refer to it as the height weight chart but is essentially the same thing.
These charts work on a very similar way to the more modern BMI scale of calculating your 'healthy weight' based on some mathematics to produce a height to weight ratio.
If you are not familiar with these charts you may well have seen one pinned to your doctor's wall in his surgery, but this method of calculating healthy body mass is not without its critics.
The problem is that some people especially those who are taller than the average person, can be given a false sense of security when using the height weight chart as a measure of healthy weight.
The healthy weight of an individual can vary and the height weight chart is intended to be used as a guideline to determine if a man or woman is in the healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system is a collection of data from many thousands of people worldwide and is designed using an average of many different people's data.
For the vast majority of the population the height weight chart gives a realistic picture of where you are within the range of healthy weight.
The real question though is, if the height weight chart can be relied upon?
In some cases the results for certain individuals when using these methods proved to be wrong.
We identified a subject (over 6 foot in height) who has now been assessed as being at risk of fatty liver disease, even though his healthy weight range score indicated otherwise. This is an example of the problems with this simple system.
When fat is accumulated in the middle abdominal area it can increase the probability of fatty liver disease.
If you are quite a tall person and you have a large tummy, it is advisable you choose a healthy lifestyle in terms of dietary intake and exercise in order to significantly reduce abdominal fat.
Conclusion: Many practitioners are now moving towards the use of body fat percentage as a safer and more reliable method of calculating health risks relating to being overweight.
In my article I explain the differences between the different methods of calculating the healthy weight range of an individual using the healthy weight chart.
There are several names for the healthy weight chart, some refer to it as the height weight chart but is essentially the same thing.
These charts work on a very similar way to the more modern BMI scale of calculating your 'healthy weight' based on some mathematics to produce a height to weight ratio.
If you are not familiar with these charts you may well have seen one pinned to your doctor's wall in his surgery, but this method of calculating healthy body mass is not without its critics.
The problem is that some people especially those who are taller than the average person, can be given a false sense of security when using the height weight chart as a measure of healthy weight.
The healthy weight of an individual can vary and the height weight chart is intended to be used as a guideline to determine if a man or woman is in the healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system is a collection of data from many thousands of people worldwide and is designed using an average of many different people's data.
For the vast majority of the population the height weight chart gives a realistic picture of where you are within the range of healthy weight.
The real question though is, if the height weight chart can be relied upon?
In some cases the results for certain individuals when using these methods proved to be wrong.
We identified a subject (over 6 foot in height) who has now been assessed as being at risk of fatty liver disease, even though his healthy weight range score indicated otherwise. This is an example of the problems with this simple system.
When fat is accumulated in the middle abdominal area it can increase the probability of fatty liver disease.
If you are quite a tall person and you have a large tummy, it is advisable you choose a healthy lifestyle in terms of dietary intake and exercise in order to significantly reduce abdominal fat.
Conclusion: Many practitioners are now moving towards the use of body fat percentage as a safer and more reliable method of calculating health risks relating to being overweight.
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