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Are You Obese?

By Mumtaz Khalid Ismail

More Links Calculation of BMI Waist and Hip ratio Average height (cms) and weight (kgs) chart of Indian males * Average height (cms) and weight (kgs) chart for Indian Females *

What is ideal body weight for me? Am I obese? How to reduce my weight? These are the most common queries I get from my clients. Glamorized images of thin models and muscle men encourage people to aspire towards an unrealistic body shape. Many people spend most of their time and money to get a good figure. They visit weight reduction clinics and gymnasium in the hope that drugs, diet and exercise will get them in shape over night. Whether the reasons for dieting are cosmetic or health related, slimming need not involve fad diets or peculiar eating patterns. A sensible balanced diet based on moderate quantities of foods that are low in fat will help most people to lose weight safely. The three main factors determine the ideal weight is age, sex and height.

Calculation of BMI

There are two widely recognised methods that are used all over the world to determine ideal weight for height. They are body mass index (BMI) and waist hip ratio. BMI is calculated by following formula.

BMI = weight in Kg / height in meters x height in meters.

For example if your height is 170 cm and weight is 62 kg, BMI is calculated as follows

BMI = 62 / (1.7 x 1.7) = 21.4

The shortcoming of BMI is it fails to consider lean body mass. It is possible for a healthy, muscular individual with very low body fat to be classified obese using the BMI formula. For a trained athlete, your weight based on your measured percent body fat would be a better indicator of what you should weigh. Based on BMI, a person can be under weight, normal or obese as follows.

BMI is below 20: This indicates under weight, which means you have a low amount of body fat. If you are athlete, this can be desirable. If you are not an athlete, a lean BMI can indicate that your weight may be too low. If your BMI and body weight is low you should consider gaining weight through good diet and exercise habits, to increase your muscle mass.

BMI is between 20 and 22: This range indicates the ideal, healthy amount of body fat. Which is associated the lowest incidence of serious illness. Coincidentally, it seems this ratio is what many individuals perceive to be the most aesthetically attractive.

BMI is between 22 and 25: This group is in the upper limit of normal range. This is still considered an acceptable range, and is associated with good health.

BMI is between 25 and 30: If you are in this range, you are obese and must find a way to lose your weight. You are at increased risk for a variety of illnesses at your present weight. You should lose weight by changing your diet and exercise.

BMI is over 30: This indicates a disease condition. Risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, gall bladder disease and few type cancers are more in this group. By changing your diet and exercising pattern your target weight can be achieved.

Category	BMI kg/m2
Under weight	Below 20
Normal	20 - 22
High normal	22 -25
Obesity	25 - 30
Extremely obese	Over 30

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Waist and Hip ratio:

The predominant distribution of fat in an obese person whether in the upper part or lower part of the body may determine by waist hip ratio? Waist and hip measurements are taken on standing posture. Waist is measured around the navel and hip is measured around the broadest part of the hips. To calculate the waist hip ratio is waist measurement in centimeter divided by hip measurement in centimeter. The normal values ranges from 0.7 to 0.8. This is very important to determine the type of obesity whether it is upper or lower segment. In man fatty tissues are mostly in the upper segment of the body like nape of the neck, shoulder and abdomen. In female upper segment obesity is mainly on the waist, chest and arm. They have large sized normal number of cells. In contrast, women with lower segment obesity with fat accumulation on the hip and thigh have fat cells in greater number but of normal size. They find more difficult to lose weight. Having a normal BMI is not just sufficient and it is also important to have a normal waist hip ratio to have healthy and attractive body.

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Average height (cms) and weight (kgs) chart of Indian males *

Height	Age in years
	20	25	30	35	40	45	50
Cm	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg
148	42.7	44. 2	46. 2	47. 6	48. 8	50. 0	50. 9
150	43. 6	44. 9	46. 9	48. 5	49. 7	50. 8	51. 5
153	45. 4	47. 0	49. 0	50. 4	51. 7	52. 3	53. 5
155	46. 3	48. 1	49. 9	51. 5	52. 7	53. 5	54. 2
158	48. 6	50. 0	52. 0	53. 5	54. 5	55. 7	56. 3
160	49. 7	51. 1	53. 1	54. 7	55. 6	56. 7	57. 4
163	51. 1	52. 7	54. 9	56. 3	57. 6	58. 5	59. 4
165	53. 1	54. 7	56. 9	58. 5	59. 7	60. 6	62. 0
168	54. 0	56. 3	58. 1	60. 1	61. 5	62. 4	63. 7
170	56. 5	57. 9	60. 3	62. 2	63. 7	64. 7	65. 8
173	58. 1	60. 1	62. 2	64. 0	65. 8	67. 0	68. 3
175	60. 1	62. 2	64. 2	66. 0	68. 1	69. 7	71. 0
178	61. 9	64. 0	66. 3	68. 5	70. 6	71. 9	72. 4
180	64. 0	66. 2	68. 5	71. 0	73. 3	74. 4	75. 1
183	66. 0	68. 5	71. 0	73. 3	75. 6	77. 1	77. 8

Source: The life Insurance Corporation of India
* These are average height and weight of Indian and not the ideal.

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Average height (cms) and weight (kgs) chart for Indian Females *

Height	Age in years
	20	25	30	35	40	45	50
Cm	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg	Kg
148	38. 6	41. 0	42. 6	44. 0	45. 1	46. 3	47. 1
150	40. 3	41. 6	43. 5	44. 8	46. 0	47. 0	47. 7
153	41. 9	43. 5	45. 3	46. 6	47. 9	48. 4	49. 5
155	42. 8	44. 3	46. 2	47. 7	48. 8	49. 5	50. 1
158	44. 9	46. 3	48. 1	49. 5	50. 4	51. 6	52. 1
160	46. 0	47. 3	49. 1	50. 6	51. 5	52. 4	53. 0
163	47. 3	48. 8	50. 8	52. 1	52. 2	54. 1	54. 9
165	49. 1	50. 6	52. 6	54. 1	55. 3	56. 0	57. 3
168	50. 0	52. 1	53. 8	55. 6	56. 8	57. 7	59. 0

Source: The life Insurance Corporation of India
* These are average height and weight of Indian and not the ideal.

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