How do I know if I am overweight?

Do I need to Lose Weight? Q: I weigh 45 kilos, Do I need to lose weight?

A: I cannot answer that for you. But I can tell you some ways to find out.

Overweight means your weight is higher than what might be considered normal weight for your height. If you believe that you may have put on a few extra pounds, you will need to assess how your weight impacts your risk of developing serious weight-related diseases and health conditions. The three main ways that weight is measured are: percent body fat (PBF), waist-to-hip ratio,and BMI (body mass index).

PBF is measured quite painlessly by a test known as 'caliper measurement'. The test measures under the skin fat with a skinfold caliper. The practioner will take hold of a fold of skin and simply pull it away from the muscle.This is normally done at the waist, hips and thigh areas. A formula is then used to calculate what the estimated body fat is. It should be noted that there are a few reasons why PBF measurement may not be considered the ideal method to use. Age,the skill of the person taking the measurments and the more overweight you are the less accurate the results are likely to be.

Waist to Hip measurement.

Take a tape measure and measure your waist at it's narrowest point and then measure your hips at their widest point.Then simply divide the measurement for your waist by the measurement from your hips and there you have your waist-to-hip ratio. Women with higher ratios than 0.85 are deemed to have a higher cardiovascular risk. As the ratio increases so does the risk factor. The same situation applies to men if their ratio exceeds 0.90.

BMI ( body mass index) To calculate your body mass index do the following: divide your weight (in pounds) by your height (in inches) squared, then multiply the result by 705. For example:your height is 5'5" = 65" 65" squared = 4,225 (65"x 65") weight:120lbs. 120 divide by 4,225 = 0.0284 0.0284 x 705 = 20.02( rounded down to 20 ) BMI is 20

How does this translate to your wellbeing?

Well assuming that you are over 20 years of age:

BMI of less that 18.5 = considered underweight. BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 = considered normal BMI of 25 to 29.9 = considered overweight Falling into the range of 25 to 34.9 means that you could experience some health concerns. Especially men whose waist size exceeds 40 inches or 35 inches for women. To put it bluntly if your BMI exceeds 30 a person is considered obese and should a person's BMI exceed 40 they are considered morbidly obese.