Getting the ideal weight is the hope of many people, especially for those who have problems with weight. Whether you want to gain or lose weight, you must calculate your ideal weight first, so that efforts to achieve the desired weight target are not in vain.
Why is it important for you to get and maintain your ideal body weight?
Achieving and maintaining ideal body weight is essential for maintaining overall body health. It also helps prevent various diseases that can interfere with the well-being of life.
If you are overweight or obese, you are at higher risk for health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems, and some types of cancer.
This is why maintaining an ideal weight is very important to help reduce the risk of these diseases. Moreover, when you have reached your ideal weight, it can make you more confident with your own body.
Ideal body weight can vary from one person to another, depending on factors such as age, height, body composition, muscle mass, and overall health.
There are several ways to calculate ideal body weight that can be done, below SVRG will reveal several ways.
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the most common ways to calculate ideal body weight. The BMI calculation produces a single number, which according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is categorized as follows:
- A BMI of less than 18.5 indicates underweight.
- A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 indicates a healthy or ideal weight range.
- A BMI between 25 and 29.9 may indicate overweight.
- A BMI of 30 or higher may indicate obesity.
However, the CDC also notes that BMI should not be used as the sole measure of ideal body weight. This is because BMI calculations do not assess a person's body composition or health. BMI is only one basic measurement tool that should be used in conjunction with other tests and assessments to determine potential health risks.
So, how do you calculate BMI to find out if you are in the ideal weight category?
BMI formula:
For example, you currently weigh 50 kilograms and are 1.6 meters (160 centimeters) tall. The first thing to do is to multiply your height in squares: 1.6 x 1.6 = 2.56. Next, divide your weight by the square of your height. 50/2.56 = 19.5. From this result, it is known that you have an ideal weight.
BMI is just one tool to understand body size. BMI calculations do not take into account differences in body shape from person to person, for example:
- Waist or hip size
- Proportion or distribution of fat
- Muscle mass proportion
These factors can affect health. For example, high-performance athletes tend to have a lot of muscle and little body fat. These athletes may have a high BMI because they have more muscle mass. However, this does not necessarily mean that they are overweight or prone to obesity.
Another limitation of BMI is that it does not differentiate between people of different racial or ethnic groups. This irregularity can lead to misdiagnosis or inappropriate assessment of risk factors in individuals.
BMI can only give a rough idea of ​​whether someone is overweight or not, and it is useful for measuring weight trends when done in population studies. However, BMI calculations should not be the only measure used to measure ideal body weight.
Waist to Hip Ratio
Waist-to-Hip Ratio or WHR is a calculation that compares the waist size to the hip size. A high WHR calculation is associated with higher levels of belly fat or visceral fat. Visceral fat is fat located in the abdominal cavity that surrounds several major organs in the body.
Because WHR calculations take belly fat into account, WHR can be a useful tool in understanding potential health risks, when combined with weight measurements and other health screenings.
A 2018 meta-analysis showed that having a high WHR calculation can put a person at higher risk of having a heart attack.
WHR can be obtained by measuring the waist circumference, namely by measuring the waist area (above the navel) immediately after you exhale, not when you inhale. Next, you should also measure the hip circumference, which can be obtained at the widest part of the hips or buttocks.
After getting the results of your waist circumference and hip circumference (in centimeters), you can calculate your WHR using the following formula:
WHR = Waist circumference/Hip circumference
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO), the obesity categories according to WHR calculations are:
- In men: WHR more than 0.9
- In women: WHR more than 0.85
However, like BMI, WHR also has limitations. For example, it does not accurately account for a person's total body fat percentage or muscle-to-fat ratio.
Waist-to-Height Ratio (WtHR)
Waist-to-Height Ratio is another way to calculate ideal body weight that you can try. This measurement compares a person's waist circumference to their height.
According to a 2015 study, higher WtHR readings were associated with poor cholesterol and blood pressure conditions, even in someone with a healthy BMI.
For this reason, WtHR can be helpful when assessing health risks, when used in conjunction with other measuring tools or methods for calculating ideal body weight.
To calculate WtHR, you can divide your waist measurement by your height. If the result is 0.5 or less, then you have a normal WtHR calculation.
A 2014 study concluded that a WtHR of 0.52 or higher was associated with a significantly shorter lifespan. This was seen more in men. However, the study did not account for ethnic differences in individuals.
Also read: The Difference between Bulking and Cutting to Shape the Ideal Body
Body Fat Percentage
In general, the normal body fat percentage can vary from person to person, depending on gender, age, and frequency of physical activity. However, the normal body fat percentage according to The American Council on Exercise can generally be categorized as follows:
Normal body fat percentage in men:
- Athletes: 6–13%
- Ordinary people with a fit body and who exercise regularly: 14–17%
- Acceptable body fat percentage: 18–24%
Normal body fat percentage in women:
- Athletes: 14–20%
- Ordinary people with a fit body and who exercise regularly: 21–24%
- Acceptable body fat percentage: 25–31%
Meanwhile, if the percentage of body fat in men is above 25% and in women above 32%, then this can be categorized as obesity.
Obesity is usually associated with a high proportion of fat in the body. Obesity and being overweight can carry a greater risk of conditions such as:
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- stroke
As additional information, the ideal body fat percentage in women is relatively higher than in men. This is because estrogen can trigger the accumulation of subcutaneous fat. On the other hand, men have the hormone testosterone which is useful in increasing muscle mass, so the body fat percentage is relatively lower in men.
Ideal body weight can vary greatly from one individual to another. BMI, WHR, WtHR, and body fat percentage are four ways to calculate ideal body weight that you can try. Combining the results of each of these calculations can provide the best and most accurate results, to measure whether your weight is in the ideal category.
For those of you who have not reached your ideal weight, there are many ways how you can get a healthy weight. In addition to dieting by consuming nutritious foods, you can also do various types of exercise.
SVRG has various types of exercise equipment such as dumbbells , kettlebells , or even exercise bikes that are needed to help achieve ideal body weight. You can find your favorite exercise equipment only at SVRG.
