What Is The Ideal Body Weight And How Manage Weight

What Is The Ideal Body Weight And How Manage Weight




What is Weight Management:


The the term ‘weight management’ refers to the maintenance of one’s weight within a healthy range, being neither overweight nor underweight. 

Overweight or obesity can be defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in our bodies. Overweight and obese affect one’s day-to-day physical performance. What is more important, these are major risk factors for heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain forms of cancers. 

On the other hand, being underweight makes one vulnerable to gastrointestinal diseases and affects the immune system adversely. 

Parents and teachers may please take note that as per World Health Organization (WHO) report, childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of premature death and disability in adulthood1.

The the problem of overweight is so huge and widespread that WHO has termed its ‘global epidemic’. It is no longer confined to developed countries; it is increasing at a faster rate in developing countries. 

As per the WHO report, in 2005, globally approximately 1.6 billion adults (age 15+) were overweight and At least 400 million of them obese.

However, the good news is that the problem of overweight and obesity is largely preventable. And, the solution lies in an intelligent mix of a balanced diet, regular exercise, and a positive mindset.


Cause of Overweight:


For a normal person who is not suffering from any medical abnormality, the the fundamental cause of overweight and obesity is more caloric intake and less caloric expenditure. This caloric imbalance may occur due to the following
reasons –

(i) Aging process – With age our body composition3 changes. There is an increase in fat percentage and decrease in fat-free mass. 

Consequent to this, our Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) declines. The decline in RMR means that our body now requires fewer calories for its maintenance. Failure to adjust our caloric intake to changed body composition leads to weight gain.

(ii) Sedentary lifestyle – Increasing urbanization, sedentary nature of work, the widespread use of mechanized transport give us less scope for physical activity. Ignoring this fact and continuing with higher caloric intake contributes to weight gain.
  
(iii) Discontinuation of exercise – Those earlier accustomed to regular physical exercise may suddenly discontinue exercise due to illness, work commitment, or out of sheer laziness, yet continue with the usual high caloric intake. 

This would surely cause weight gain. It is not very uncommon to see many ex-sportspersons walking with those extra tires of fat around their waist, for this reason only.

(iv) Junk food – Frequent and indiscriminate consumption of junk foods is a major cause of overweight and obesity, especially among children. Junk foods are very high in calories due to their high contents of fats, sugar, and salts. 

While high calories from fats and sugar directly contribute to weight gain, salt contributes so by causing more water retention in the body.

(v) Poor understanding of exercise and nutrition – The relationship between the number of calories spent and calories gained has to be understood properly. 

Remember this simple common-sense formula – for weight maintenance, caloric expenditure should be equal to caloric intake; for weight loss, caloric expenditure should be more than caloric intake and for weight gain, caloric expenditure should be less than caloric intake. 

Some of the newcomers to exercise have a tendency to overestimate their energy expenditure during exercise and taking it as a license to consume high calories food. This results in an imbalance between caloric intake and caloric expenditure.



What is the Ideal Body Weight?


We are a generation obsessed with weight management? We are always in quest of ideal body weight. We starve ourselves to a ridiculous extent, put more faith in miracle machines, devour magic pills and spend thousands of rupees visiting slimming centers.

The question is – what is the ideal body weight (IBW) for a person?

The the answer is – this is a WRONG question. In fact, there is NO ideal body weight for anyone.

From time to time, efforts have been made to devise some sort of Height-Weight Tables to determine IBW for a corresponding height. 

For example, Metropolitan Life Insurance Height & Weight Table (1980), developed by Metropolitan Life The insurance Company was based on data associated with the long life of the subjects who was closer to the average IBW?

Later, Body Mass Index (BMI) came to be widely accepted as a simple, quick, and convenient method for the determination of overweight and obesity. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters squared.

                                     Weight (kg)
              BMI =  ...........................................                             
                                   Height (meter)
 

IBW is measured at a BMI between 18.5-24.99 Kg/m2 or more and obesity at a BMI of 30 kg/m2, overweight at or more.

Calculate your BMI: Click here...

These cut-offs are based on the association between BMI and chronic disease and mortality and have been adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO). Please see the following table –
 
However, despite its wide acceptability and use, the concept of BMI suffers from the following limitations:

(i) BMI is not a valid 4 method to assess body fat. It is based on a simplistic presumption that ‘overweight’ is due to excess fat and hence more the fat, the greater the risk of diseases. Therefore, being ‘overweight’ is always undesirable. 

This presumption is not true. BMI lacks validity as it does not distinguish excess adiposity (fatness) from greater muscularity. In other words, it ignores the fact that overweight can also be caused by greater muscularity or a larger body frame.

For example, sportspersons like bodybuilders, heavyweight boxers, footballers, sprinters, etc. maybe ‘overweight’ or even ‘obese’ by BMI standards despite their excellent athletic ability and low body fat percentage.

 There is a distinction between overweight due to excess fat and overweight due to excess muscularity. When your overweight is due to excess fat, it is a liability. 

It will reduce your physical performance and increase the risk of certain diseases. Such overweight is harmful, hence undesirable and a matter of concern. 

On the other hand, if your overweight is due to extra muscle gain, it will contribute to your better physical performance. Such overweight is useful hence desirable and a matter of celebration. Look at the following illustration–

In the above illustration, BMI will blindly place both A and B in the same category. Whose health is more at risk? You cannot find any answer from BMI. 

Actually, in case of the person B, high % fat is a matter of concern while for A, low % fat and high % lean body mass is a matter of celebration though both of them have the same weight.

Read also:

 
(ii) BMI ignores the element of body frame size. A person of the same height and body composition but of a larger body frame may weigh more than his medium or small body frame counterpart. But for all three body frame sizes, the same IBW has been fixed. 

Thus when we prescribe the same IBW for all body frame sizes and allow a concession of 10% (beyond which one would be categorized as overweight), it practically means allowing a narrower range of concession to a person of larger body frame (as he is already heavier due to his larger skeletal frame).

 This is not a fair practice. In this illustration, D will have a greater BMI than C despite having an equal % of body fat only because of his larger body frame.

(iii) BMI is not a suitable measure of ideal weight in the case of children. For adults who have stopped growing, the BMI method presumes that thereafter an increase in their weight will be caused by an increase in their body fat. 

In the case of children, their amount of body fat keeps on changing as they grow up. Their BMI may decrease during early school days (due to shedding of baby fat) and then again increase as they grow into adulthood (due to increased muscle mass and larger body frame).


(iv) Similarly, BMI will underestimate the amount of body fat of an elderly person. I have found many persons declaring with satisfaction (and pride) that over the years they have maintained their ideal weight. Take an example of a person who weighed 70 Kg at the age of 20, 40, and 60. Look at the following illustration –

It is clear from this illustration that the weight of the person has remained in an ideal weight range throughout despite an increase in % body fat over the years (which is not a healthy sign). 

This person has lost muscle mass, bone mass, and is still happy about his weight! By now, it must be fairly clear that it is not the ‘overweight’ as such but it is rather the ‘overfat’ which should be of our real concern.
 
What Is The Ideal Body Weight And How Manage Weight


What is the Ideal Body Fat:

Unfortunately, unlike Body Mass Index (BMI) there is no universally accepted set of body fat standards. Different studies have recommended a minimal essential fat percentage of total body weight. 

Minimal fat is the body fat that is necessary for health. It is essential for our nervous system, cell membranes, regulation of body temperature, and production of sex hormones. 

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the minimal fat percentage for men and women should be 5% and 10-12% of total body weight respectively.
 
Body fat less than 10-12% in women may lead to bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The healthy range of fat percentage may go up to 25% and 38% for men and women respectively.

US Army standards allow up to 26% and 36% for men and women above 40 respectively. There are so many other studies that recommend an ideal fat % range with slight variations. Let’s not embark upon this endless journey of finding ‘the ideal body fat’. 

What is important for us is that we should be well within a healthy range of body fat percentages. The lower the body fat percentage; the better will be our physical performance.
 

Conclusion:


In final words 

If you have any doubts or queries share your experience in the comments below.

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