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March 31, 2024
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Ideal weight: learn to calculate BMI and know your indexes

The search for the ideal weight is not a new subject. In times of fad diets and new exercise trends emerging every day, dissatisfaction with current weight is a recurring problem for many women. The influence of the media, imposing often unattainable standards, further worsens this situation.

For this reason, it is important to note that regret is not synonymous with having reached the ideal weight or even being healthy. Weight and health have an even deeper relationship than that.

According to Dr. Roberto Debski, a physician and psychologist, maintaining a healthy weight that is age and biotype compatible is fundamental to the physical and mental health of anyone. "Weight loss means healthy eating, regular physical activity and balanced eating behavior," he says.

How to know your ideal weight

Each person has an ideal weight based on their body composition, height, gender and type of build. This is calculated using the Body Mass Index (BMI) formula, an indicator adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and used to diagnose obesity and overweight, using two easily measurable data: weight and height.

To calculate it, does the doctor advise dividing the weight? in pounds? of the person by his height? in meters ? squared in the following formula BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height² (meters). According to him, the higher the BMI, the higher the risk of early death, especially for cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction, hypertension and strokes.

The results obtained by the calculation are divided into levels, being classified as follows:

Very severe underweight when BMI is less than 16 kg / m².
Low severe weight when BMI is between 16 and 16.99 kg / m².
Low weight when BMI is between 17 and 18.49 kg / m².
Normal weight when BMI is over 18.50 and up to 24.99 kg / m².
Overweight when BMI is between 25 and 29.99 kg / m².
Obesity grade I when BMI is between 30 to 34.99 kg / m².
Obesity grade II when BMI is between 35 to 39.99 kg / m².
Grade III obesity (or morbid obesity) when BMI is greater than 40 kg / m².

"Values above or below the normal range, between 18.50 and 24.99 kg / m² are associated with a higher risk of disease," advises Dr. Roberto. The doctor also clarifies that the BMI table described above is for an adult population between 20 and 65 years, with differences for the calculation of BMI for children and the elderly.

Another circumstance that should be calculated differently is for athletes or people with very high muscle mass index, requiring additional abdominal circumference measurements or a bioimpedance assessment to obtain more conclusive results.

? Because it has accurate values, is graphically visible and can also be quantified in tables, BMI becomes very useful for showing patients where they fit, whether they are normal, above or below the recommended. Thus we can address the issue of weight, consequences and health risks, working with goals and planning aimed at healthy weight and improvement in quality of life ?, complements the professional.

Beyond the balance

Today we live with the imposition of the media of an almost unreachable weight and appearance. The view that a woman forms of herself is not of her own free will but from a social pattern. She grows up wanting to be like that tall, skinny artist who plays on television, disliking each day more than she sees in the mirror.

Dissatisfaction with weight is a feeling of daily living for the vast majority of women, and overcoming it must be achieved day after day. It is no easy task to accept that her body is different from her friend or that her thick legs will not be thin like those of the model in the magazine. It should be borne in mind that there are bodies with different biotypes, but no less beautiful and admirable.

Learning to accept the image you see reflected in the mirror without looking away is a lengthy but rewarding process. Free yourself from the shackles of standards imposed by others, increase your self-esteem, love yourself, and feel worthy of being loved, regardless of your weight or appearance.

After all, having a healthy life and achieving the quality of life desired by many does not mean weighing little, but finding your ideal weight and striving to achieve it with the help of balanced diet and regular exercise. Feel good about who you are!