New to Healthy by Choices? Take a look around and then sign up for inspirational, informational emails and never miss a thing!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Is Your Weight Healthy?

How do you know if you have a healthy weight? What exactly is a healthy weight?





This is the Body Mass Index chart and it is based on a height to weight ratio. A healthy weight is in the green category. Yellow is Overweight and blue is the Obese category. Go ahead and click on the chart image to make it bigger.

Take a moment to congratulate yourself if your numbers are in the green category, and if not, evaluate your goals. Is your goal weight in the green category? Is it healthy goal?


The most common statement made about the BMI chart in recent history, is "no one fits in the green category, why should I?". Well, this chart has been a static, unchanging tool for a long time. The obesity epidemic has changed what we look like and has changed our perception of what a healthy weight actually is (even many doctors have a hard time picking a healthy weight person out of a crowd). So in the nicest terms possible, the BMI chart is a good reality check.

Please keep in mind that this chart does not apply to children or teenagers (they have their own charts). It also doesn't apply to pregnant or nursing women, or extremely muscular men. Well, pregnant and nursing women are obvious, but how do you know if you are "extremely muscular"? Hint: Extremely muscular should look pretty close to this:



An extremely muscular man would also have a body fat percentage of around 8 or less. Not in the green category just quite yet? Don't worry, just keep making the choice to be healthy every time it comes up. And then celebrate here by letting us know you succeeded!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Is the chart for guys or girls? Shouldn't they be different?

~Kelley said...

The chart is for both guys and girls. Actually, that is why there is such a big range of healthy weights for heights.

Deandra said...

Thanks for the information! Good things here!

Tammy said...

Awesome information. We will be checking in often for more useful tips. Thanks.