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.
The healthy weight chart is a fairly crude formula that takes into account many general factors relating to the overall body shape of a person.
There are several names for the healthy weight chart, some refer to it as the height weight chart but is essentially the same thing.
To clarify, these charts can be used to produce a rough idea of where we are in a healthy weight range, what band we fall into based on a height and weight formula.
In recent times many people have questioned the accuracy of such a system that is based on such generalised personal information as height and weight and is constructed using comparative data that dates back 40 years.
There is a particular problem with the modern diet that means that many of us now carry excessive and disproportionate amounts of fat around our waistline.
All the information from the height weight chart is for information purposes only and should be used together with other relevant factors to decide if you are within a healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system was established by collecting data from the population as a whole.
For most people the height weight chart gives quite an accurate indication of where you are within the band of the healthy weight range.
Because of the generalised nature of these tools you should always look at other factors besides the height weight chart to be confident in the accuracy of your result.
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.
If you are tall but carry excessive weight around your abdominal region you should seek medical advice as you may be at increased risk of disease.
So if you are a tall person who tends to carry weight around the middle of your body you should ask your doctor for advice, and NOT rely on BMI as a measure of your healthy weight.
To sum up: Due to known inaccuracies of the measurement systems for height to weight ratio, more doctors have now updated their advice to patients to be aware that carrying weight around the middle part of your body can put you at increased risk of diseases.
The healthy weight chart is a fairly crude formula that takes into account many general factors relating to the overall body shape of a person.
There are several names for the healthy weight chart, some refer to it as the height weight chart but is essentially the same thing.
To clarify, these charts can be used to produce a rough idea of where we are in a healthy weight range, what band we fall into based on a height and weight formula.
In recent times many people have questioned the accuracy of such a system that is based on such generalised personal information as height and weight and is constructed using comparative data that dates back 40 years.
There is a particular problem with the modern diet that means that many of us now carry excessive and disproportionate amounts of fat around our waistline.
All the information from the height weight chart is for information purposes only and should be used together with other relevant factors to decide if you are within a healthy weight range.
The healthy weight range system was established by collecting data from the population as a whole.
For most people the height weight chart gives quite an accurate indication of where you are within the band of the healthy weight range.
Because of the generalised nature of these tools you should always look at other factors besides the height weight chart to be confident in the accuracy of your result.
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.
If you are tall but carry excessive weight around your abdominal region you should seek medical advice as you may be at increased risk of disease.
So if you are a tall person who tends to carry weight around the middle of your body you should ask your doctor for advice, and NOT rely on BMI as a measure of your healthy weight.
To sum up: Due to known inaccuracies of the measurement systems for height to weight ratio, more doctors have now updated their advice to patients to be aware that carrying weight around the middle part of your body can put you at increased risk of diseases.
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