How much you weigh has a great deal to do with your health. There might not be an ideal weight calculator, but you can use a body mass index (BMI) chart to determine the target weight that is right for you. A body mass index chart is a quick way to tell where you are compared to ideal weight.
The body mass index is the basis of any primary body fat calculator. You can clearly see if your weight is in the right range. If you are more concerned with how your weight relates to health risk, you will need to evaluate three factors.
Your Weight, Build, and Health Risk
One of the primary concerns with being overweight is it is a diabetes risk predictor. The greater majority of diabetics are overweight. Determining your health risk in relation to your weight requires these pieces of information:
* The circumference of your waist
* The body mass index calculated from how much you weigh and how tall you are
* The risk factors from any diseases that can be triggered from obesity
You can either use a body mass index calculator, or simply a body mass index chart to determine if your body weight is too high. If your BMI is 25 to 29.9, you are classified as overweight. If your BMI is 30 or higher, you meet the conditions of being obese.
Diseases that are known to stem from obesity are type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, breathing problems, gallstones, and some forms of cancer, to name a few.
Variable Factors in BMI Numbers
How much you weigh in relation to your height is a good indicator of body fat, but there are variables that cause somewhat erroneous estimates. If you are athletic and have a muscular build, your body contains more muscle than the person with an average build, so the fat will be overestimated. On the other hand, if you are an older person, your fat estimate may be low because you have lost muscle due to inactivity.
Health Risk Indicators
The circumference of the waist is a good indicator of health risk. If most of your body fat is around your waist instead of your hips, you have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. For men, the risk is more with waist sizes of 40 or more, and in women it increases after 35 inches.
There are other factors that add to health risks caused by being overweight. Some of these are family history of disease, high volume of LDL cholesterol, low volume of HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose, and hypertension. If you smoke, your risks increase a great deal, too.
The body mass index chart is a good place to start when you want to evaluate what you should do about how much you weigh. Ideally, you would like a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9.
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