Information About Healthy Weight

Anne Collins

What is a Healthy Weight?
The US National Heart Lung and Blood Institute use three criteria for assessing the health risks associated with obesity and overweight.

Body Mass Index (BMI)
Waist Circumference
Other Risk factors for Diseases Associated with Obesity

(1) Body Mass Index (BMI)
The BMI is a widely used weight-assessment system which gives each person a "score" according to their height and weight. In simple terms, the higher your BMI score, the greater the risk of developing weight-related health problems.


To calculate your BMI, click: Calculate Your Body Mass Index Score

How Body Mass Index Classifies Weight

Under 20 (19 for women) = Underweight
Between 20 and 24.99 = Normal Weight
Between 25 and 29.99 = Overweight
Between 30 and 34.99 = Obese Class 1
Between 35 and 39.99 = Obese Class 2
40 and above = Morbid Obesity

How Body Mass Index Classifies Weight-Related Health Risk

BMI of < 20.00 - Risk = Moderate to Very High
20.00 to 21.99 - Risk = Low
22.00 to 24.99 - Risk = Very Low
25.00 to 29.99 - Risk = Low
30.00 to 34.99 - Risk = Moderate
35.00 to 39.99 - Risk = High
BMI of > 40.00 - Risk = Very High

What are the Weight-Related Health Dangers?

Excess body fat can cause a variety of health problems, including:

- Hypertension
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Stroke
- Dyslipidemia
- Insulin Resistance
- Adult-Onset Diabetes (Type 2)
- Sleep Apnea
- Osteoarthritis
- Gastro esophageal reflux
- Urinary stress incontinence

Drawbacks of Body Mass Index

The body mass index system has several weaknesses. First, it's weight categories are not universally accepted. Second, it takes no account of muscle-fat ratio. So it tends to overestimate health risks for muscular athletes, while underestimating the risks for older people and those who have lost muscle mass. Lastly, there is no allowance made for age or sex in the weight tables. Once you are an adult, the various categories and weight ranges apply equally to men and women.

(2) Waist Circumference

For people with a BMI of 34 or less, waist circumference provides an independent prediction of risk over and above that of body mass index. This because body fat tissue which is stored around the stomach and abdomen poses a greater health risk than body fat located in the lower half of the body. For example, some studies indicate that abdominal fat plays a role in the development of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and heart disease.

What is a Healthy Waist Circumference?

Women

Waist of over 31 inches (about 80cm) indicates slight health risk.
Waist of over 35 inches (about 90cm) indicates substantially increased risk.

Men

Waist of over 37 inches (about 94cm) indicates slight health risk.
Waist of over 40 inches (about 102cm) indicates substantially increased risk.

NOTE: For a concise explanation of how ALL surplus calories (from fats, protein AND carbs) are converted to body fat and stored as adipose tissue, see How We Gain Body Fat?

(3) Other Health Risk Factors

In addition to body mass index and waist measurement, there are additional risk factors to consider when assessing your weight-related health. These other factors include:

- high blood pressure (hypertension)
- high LDL-cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol)
- low HDL-cholesterol ("good" cholesterol)
- high triglycerides
- high blood glucose (sugar)
- family history of premature heart disease
- physical inactivity
- cigarette smoking

Weight-Health Assessment

For individuals who suffer from obesity (BMI > 29.9), or those who are overweight (BMI 25-29.9) and have two or more risk factors, the guidelines recommend weight reduction. Even a minor loss of weight (eg. 10 percent of current weight) will help to reduce your risk of developing diseases associated with obesity. Patients who are overweight, who do not have a high waist measurement, and have less than 2 risk factors may need to prevent weight gain rather than lose weight.

For a proper assessment of your weight-related health, talk to your doctor. Your doctor will calculate your body mass index, waist circumference and other risk factors for heart disease. People who are overweight or obese have a greater chance of developing hypertension (elevated blood pressure), raised blood cholesterol or other blood-fat disorders, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. The good news is, even a small weight loss (just 10 percent of your current weight) will help to lower your risk from these diseases.

Note About the Dangers of Weight Gain in Later Life

Weight gain as you age increases the chances of developing one or more chronic diseases. In the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, middle-aged women and men who gained 11 - 22 pounds after age 20 were up to three times more likely to develop heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and gallstones than those who gained five pounds or fewer. Those who gained more than 22 pounds had even larger risks of developing these diseases.

A Note About Body Composition

Broadly speaking, in a healthy woman of average weight, fat tissue makes up 27 percent of total body weight, muscle tissue about 35 percent and skeleton about 12 percent. In a man of average weight, the approximate percentages are 15 percent fat, 45 percent muscle, 15 percent skeleton. The remaining 25 percent or so, in both cases, is composed of skin, blood plasma, connective tissue, tendons, organs, hair and so on.

Weight of Water Content

Water accounts for about 70 percent of the total body weight of an average person. Muscle is roughly 75 percent water, 20 percent protein and 5 percent minerals and other matter. Body fat and bones are roughly 50 percent water.

Weight of Bones

The skeleton typically accounts for quite a small amount of total body weight. For instance, bone weight in a female of 160 pounds is about 19.2 pounds, while a male who weighs 200 pounds has only about 30 pounds of weight in his bones. Thus although weight does vary somewhat according to bone size or bone density, we can't really claim that our bones make us overweight!

source: Information About Healthy Weight

Winning Tactics For Giving Up diets

weight loss advice

You might disagree, but hear me out on this, if you're thinking of going on a diet to lose those extra pounds think again. Long-term weight control through dieting is near impossible, for the simple reason is that diets promote only short-term solutions not long term.
After dieting you'll certainly look lighter on the scales, but in most cases this is because you've dumped a few pounds of body fluid and muscle, and not because you've lost any significant amounts of body fat.
One of the main reasons diets don't work is because they send the body into starvation mode - a survival mechanism for times when humans faced periods of famine. Cutting back on our energy intake causes the body to lower its metabolic rate, which reduces its ability to burn fat.
At the same time, hunger signals increase and we quickly start to crave high energy foods loaded with fats and sugars - the exact foods we are trying to do without!
Alarmingly, research has shown that repeated dieting actually makes it harder to lose weight and easier to put it on.
This is because when you dump the diet and return to normal eating habits, the drop in metabolic rate caused by the diet means that your old eating habits actually represent excess in calories.
Not only do you regain the fat stores just lost, but you may even gain a bit extra.

Five more reasons to stop dieting


* Diets sap energy - Too little food means not enough energy for physical activity.

* Diets lower your metabolism - Dieting causes your body to conserve energy, making results harder to achieve.

* Diets are unhealthy - A cycle of rapid weight loss followed by weight gain can lead to a loss of lean tissue from your body and calcium from your bones. It also strips the body of essential vitamins and minerals.

* Diets make food the enemy - Food provides nourishment and comfort. Diets can make you afraid to eat, depriving you of one of life's pleasures.

* Diets cheat your confidence - Going from one failed diet to the next can leave you feeling depressed and create a cycle in which guilt battles against food.

Regular physical activity and a healthy, balanced diet aren't as glamorous as the quick fixes, but they do get better results.
Start with one extra exercise session and one less fatty takeaway meal per week, and gradually work towards a lifelong plan for achieving your best weight.
If you change the way you eat or exercise to lose weight, ask yourself this question. Can I see myself sticking to this routine for life?

If the answer is "no" then its time to change what you're doing. Any healthy weight loss plan should include the following:

* A wide variety of foods.

* Regular and enjoyable exercise.

* Enough filling foods to avoid constant hunger.

* At least 1200 calories a day.

* Flexibility for treat foods and social occasions.

* A realistic goal of your best weight (not necessarily your
lowest weight.)

Fact
A realistic weight loss is around one to two pounds per week. Fast weight losses are not fat loss but glycogen and water. If you lose weight quickly then you will probable return back to the weight at which you started as quickly as it was lost.

Fiction
* Weight loss is quick and simple.

* Exercise is not necessary.

* Certain exercises can spot reduce.

* Carbohydrates (for example, bread, potatoes, rice, and pasta) are fattening.

Eliminate calorie-dense foods such as cookies, sugary desserts, chips, fries, pizza, candies, crackers etc.
Research on people who have successfully lost a lot of weight and kept it off long term, shows that the vast majority succeeded by consuming a low fat diet high in fibre coupled with strength training and cardiovascular activity.
These are the basics you'll need to aim for.

A sound weight loss-eating plan should:


* Be nutritionally sound, providing all the nutrients you need.

* Never promise fast weight losses.

* Offer an eating plan based on real food.

* Allow you to eat out.

* Avoid expensive meal plans, products and supplements.

* Not avoid carbohydrate foods, e.g. bread, rice, pasta, cereals and potatoes.

* Make gradual dietary changes.

* Provide knowledge.

* Allow you to eat all foods

* Recommend physical activity.

Fat calories are more fattening than carbohydrate calories. Your body can easily convert the fat you eat in food into body fat, so to lose weight you need to cut down on fats and foods that contain it.

Consider the following steps to reduce fat in your diet.


* Use skimmed or skimmed milk in drinks, cooking and on cereals.

* Buy a non - stick frying pan.

* Buy a cheese slicer

* Cut the visible fat from meat.

* Eat very little pastry.

* Learn how to read a food label.

* Substitute low fat yogurt for cream.

* Remove the skin from chicken and turkey.

* Eat fruit as snacks rather than eating chocolate and biscuits.

* Eat fewer burgers and sausages.

In conclusion the way to lose body fat and maintain muscle is to have a food program for life and more energy output. Increase the amount of fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy products, whole grains, and beans that you eat.

Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your 'free' weight loss e-course.

The Diet Plan Remedy you must know About

Fat loss is usually related to weight reduction, reduction in unwanted fat and increases in lean muscle mass. The good thing of fat loss is that you're not getting rid of your muscles. The real truth about fat loss is the fact that reduced intensity workout routines will burn off a greater percent of excess fat, but a lesser amount of energy over-all. A single fundamental rule you will want to comprehend about fat loss is always that muscle mass burns up body fat. The greater lean body mass you've got on your entire body, the greater excess fat you're going to be capable to metabolize. Due to this fact, the truth that excess fat burning is elevated following anaerobic workout routines are only able to be described by the point that following the physical fitness work out your muscle mass have to restore themselves. Exercising helps you to develop lean muscle mass and acquiring far more lean muscle will also boost metabolic rate. Workout intensity - Essentially the most key elements that decides the speed of excess fat oxidation throughout physical exercise is the intensity. Exercising is effective together with diet. Exercising may have a beneficial impact on metabolic process. Diet and exercise work together with a successful fat reduction strategy. Physical exercise, particularly weight training exercise , also energizes the discharge of growth hormone, essentially the most effective fat reducing substances in your body. The kind of aerobic fitness exercise that's performed doesn't matter. After you workout longer than about fifteen minutes, the body makes use of primarily excess fat for energy. A combination of aerobic fitness exercise and weight lifting to shed weight ought to be done a minimum of three times per week. Almost all workouts, definitely almost all cardiovascular or regular aerobic exercise, are totally unsuccessful with regards to boosting human growth hormone. Furthermore aerobic fitness exercise, including strength training (lifting weights) have an even greater success in metabolic increase. A weight reduction diet plan is vital for attaining a wholesome weight. Excess weight continues to be an important issue for many of us. Fat reduction plans don't depend just on a diet to achieve success, you have to include a health and fitness goal and plan in your weight loss routine to be successful using your time. Bodyweight exercises are ideal for newbies simply because they include basic compound workout routines which cover your key groups of muscles. Our excess weight remains an important disquiet for most of us. If you're beginning to workout to lose weight, physical exercises to lose weight naturally are ideal for you no matter your level of fitness. Unhurried and moderate weight-loss is much healthier (and much less dangerous) than riding the diet wave roller coaster. Monitor the meals you consume more carefully and you'll accomplish weight-loss in a healthy and balanced pace with no roller coaster. Consume adequate whole food proteins throughout the day, get maximum GH (human growth hormone)while sleeping, and also have sufficient dietary fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids) and sacrificing muscular mass shouldn't be an issue. There's no doubt that the diabetic issues has a lot related to the way in which the food industry alter foods and food habits, folks consume increasingly more highly processed carbohydrates and saturated fats, meats originating from unhealthy animals, full in hormones and anti-biotics. Calorie burning foods consist of drinks and food items that promote the physical metabolic processes, leading to burning up stored body fat. A weight reduction eating plan shouldn't reduce the food products that have higher vitamins and minerals. Want to know the sorts of food items to consume to melt away excess fat around your belly?

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Weight Loss, Dietary Supplements, Energy Booster, Sexual Enhancement Products Recalled

Fruta Planta

Fruta Planta, Passion Coffee and Rock Hard Extreme, marketed as dietary supplements, weight loss products, energy boosters and sexual enhancement products have been recalled for unlisted Sulfoaildenafil (steroid) and Food and Drug Administration unapproved sibutramine.

PRock Marketing of Kissimmee, Fla., is recalling all Fruta Planta and Reduce Weight Fruta Planta products, sold online and through e-mail advertising and infomercials. Fruta Planta contains sibutramine, a drug withdrawn by the FDA for health and safety issues. The FDA has received numerous reports of health problems linked to Fruta Planta, including heart complications and one death. Here is the Fruta Planta product image, listed under the FDA Medical Product Fraud department. Note that it is marketed as "100% organic." Fruta Planta proclaims to help users lose 25 pounds in one month with "no adverse side effects" and "no exercise;" 25 pounds in one month isn't even healthy weight loss, let alone the fact Fruta Planta does contain dangerous sibutramine. If you have any Fruta Planta in your home, you are urged to discard it in a sealed container.

Drive Total Energy has recalled Passion Coffee and Rock Hard Extreme, marketed as energy boosters, sexual enhancements and dietary supplements. Passion Coffee and Rock Hard Extreme contain an analog or hybrid of Sildenafil called Sulfoaildenafil. Sildenafil has been declared safe for use with erectile dysfunction. The analog Sulfoaildenafil has not been FDA approved for safety. Also Total Drive Energy Passion Coffee and Rock Hard Extreme have not declared Sulfoaildenafil in their products. Erectile Dysfunction drugs are very dangerous for consumers with heart problems or those who are prescription medication for cholesterol, hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes or a heart condition. Additionally, men who take these medications are usually at risk for Erectile Dysfunction and may seek out products like Magic Coffee, Rock Hard Extreme and Total Drive Energy. These products join Duro Extend, Magic Coffee Powder, and Man Up Now as products recalled for undeclared Sulfoaildenafil.

With the list of steroid tainted dietary supplements, weight loss products, energy boosters and sexual enhancements growing longer, Consumers are advised beware of all products sold in this category, especially those sold online or marketed by email or infomercial. Customers should be cautious about purchasing products labeled in a foreign language. Imported products like Fruta Planta are to be avoided especially because most foreign countries have very different product health and safety standards. Very often, health products imported from foreign countries do not follow product labeling laws. "Truth in Advertising" is a huge problem with foreign made and marketed goods. Currently, the United States has relatively tariff- free trade with these countries, so consumers have unapproved, potentially dangerous drugs readily available.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben, a 10-year veteran homeschooler, has nearly three decades of experience as a special needs and general education teacher. She has created hundreds of themed units and lesson plans on everything from ancient Greece to biodiversity to personal finance to poetry. She holds a BS in psychology and a degree as Dr. Mom from the university of life. She writes about parenting for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own articles.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben 

Weight Loss Triggered by Blocking 1 Fat-Absorption Gene

Scientists have identified a chain of chemical reactions that begins with one gene and prompts the body to absorb fat.

Finding a drug that interferes with this gene could allow people to decrease the amount of fat their bodies take in from the food they eat.

"In [the] early history of mammals and man, this was a crucial molecule because one had to absorb as much fat as possible and store it because food was very scarce," said study researcher Bert O'Malley, of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"Nowadays, when you can buy food on every corner, and fast food everywhere ... this pathway, which is very efficient, is working against us, because it really leads to increased fat absorption and storage," he said.

The study appears in the January issue of the journal Cell Metabolism.

The pathway kicks in when a cell has depleted its energy supply. Low energy levels activate a gene called SRC-2, the researchers found. This gene, in turn, activates other genes that trigger bile production in the liver.

Bile then moves into the intestines, where it emulsifies fat into particles tiny enough to move through the wall of the intestine and into the bloodstream, O'Malley said.

The fat, rich in calories, can then be turned into energy for the body's cells. The process occurs daily, whenever energy runs low.

When O'Malley and his colleagues deleted the SRC-2 gene from mice, they found the mice were unable to absorb fat properly. They ate just as much food as normal mice, but were thinner. The fat seemed to pass through them - they had higher levels of triglycerides, a type of fat, in their feces, and lower levels of triglycerides in their blood than mice with a normal SRC-2 gene.

The researchers also found that adding bile to the intestine restored the ability of these mice to take up fat - further evidence that this mechanism was at work in the slimmed-down mice.

O'Malley and his colleagues are now investigating ways to inhibit this pathway.

"There is a hope that now we know this molecule exists and works like this, that we could find some way or some drug to dampen the activity of SRC-2," O'Malley said.

While the studies were conducted in mice, there is reason to believe the same pathway is at work in people, O'Malley said. The researchers have studied human liver cells and found the pathway seems to work the same way. In addition, scientists know other components of the pathway function similarly in people - bile is secreted by the liver to prompt fat absorption in the intestine.

In the future, the researchers may try to identify people with mutations in the SRC-2 gene to see if they are less able to absorb fat, O'Malley said.

Pass it on: Scientists have discovered a chain of events occurring inside cells that control the amount of fat the body takes up.

Original Story: Weight Loss Triggered by Blocking 1 Fat-Absorption Gene

By Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff Writer

Follow MyHealthNewsDaily staff writer Rachael Rettner on Twitter @Rachael_MHND.