Content
The ideal weight is an important assessment that, in addition to helping the person to understand whether he is overweight or underweight, can also prevent complications such as obesity, diabetes or even malnutrition, which happens when the person is very underweight.
To find out which weight range is right for you, enter your data into the calculator:
How is the ideal weight calculated?
The ideal weight is calculated according to the BMI (Body Mass Index), which is calculated using two variables: weight and height. Thus, knowing that a healthy adult must be in a BMI range between 18.5 - 24.9, and knowing the weight of each person, it is possible to discover the ideal weight range.
Better understand how to calculate BMI and what it is for.
Why does the ideal weight vary with age?
Although age is not a factor included in the calculation of BMI, it is a value that ends up influencing the way the result is interpreted. This is because, elderly people tend to have a lower BMI result, due to the decrease in bone density and muscle mass. Thus, the BMI range considered normal for an elderly person should be less than that of a younger adult.
Is the indicated weight range ideal for everyone?
No. The indicated healthy weight range is an average based on the BMI calculation, which was developed to assess all people, without taking into account personal factors, such as the amount of muscle mass, some health problems or bone density.
Thus, although the BMI helps to calculate an average weight for a large part of the population, its value may be wrong when calculated for some specific cases, especially in athletes or pregnant women, for example. In these cases, the ideal is always to make a more detailed assessment with a doctor or nutritionist, who will be able to make other assessments to determine body composition, such as bioimpedance or skin fold measurement.
Better understand what bioimpedance is:
Why is it important to know the ideal weight?
Knowing the ideal weight range is a good way of assessing nutritional status, because when body weight is above ideal it means that the person is eating excess calories, while underweight can mean that the person is eating less calories than it should.
In addition, the value of body weight and BMI is also directly related to the amount of body fat and, therefore, the higher the BMI value, the greater the accumulation of fat in the body. Generally, people with high fat levels are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, especially when fat is accumulated in the waist area.
People overweight, or with a BMI higher than recommended, should also calculate the "waist-to-hip ratio" that assesses the risk of cardiovascular problems according to waist circumference. See how to calculate the waist-to-hip ratio.