Why Do You Have To Know What Your Ideal Body Weight Is?
Confidence is what makes people attractive. Although, technically, it has nothing to do with your body weight. Being overweight or underweight often takes away a person’s confidence. Besides that, it can cause various health problems, such as the increased risk of various diseases, including cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Sometimes, to prevent health problems, people start dieting. But without knowing their ideal body weight, they may only make things worse. That is why you should use an ideal body weight calculator to find out whether you need to shed a couple of pounds, maintain your current weight, or try to gain some mass. Various methods can help you figure out whether you have a healthy weight, such as body mass index (BMI), body fat content, and body fat distribution. They may not be 100% accurate, but they will help you determine which direction your weight management should go. So, if that is what you have been looking for, then read on and use this ideal body weight calculator!
If you already know what your weight goal is, then download the BetterMe app and get down to achieving it right now!
Ideal Body Weight Calculator: How Much Should You Weigh?
A person’s weight is determined by numerous factors such as height, age, sex, lifestyle, choice of diet, inherited genes, lack of sleep, family habits and culture, and others. And so, the ideal body weight is different for everyone. As was mentioned above, there are certain methods on how to calculate your ideal body weight, and they are:
- Body Mass Index
Body mass index or BMI uses a correlation between a person’s height and weight to calculate their ideal body weight. A BMI can indicate whether a person is underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight with your height in kilograms per meter squared (kg/m²). A person whose BMI is lower than 18.5 kg/m² is considered underweight. If your result is between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m², then you are normal. A result of 25-30 kg/m² indicates that a person is overweight, and a BMI of 30 kg/m² and up means obesity.
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Although it is often used to determine whether a person is overweight or suffers from obesity, a BMI is not the most accurate indicator. The downside of BMI is that it doesn’t take into consideration the difference between fat and muscle mass, which makes a huge difference. Therefore, BMI may indicate that a professional bodybuilder is overweight and needs to lose weight, while in reality, that weight is muscles.
- Waist-To-Hip Ratio
If you want to use an ideal body weight calculator, you need to know your waist-to-hip ratio. It is considered slightly better than BMI at indicating whether a person’s weight is at a point where it harms health. A normal waist-to-hip ratio varies depending on sex, with a 0.85 and below for women and 0.9 and below for men. If the result is above, it means that a person has an increased abdominal fat storage, which can be linked to various health issues.
- Waist-To-Height Ratio
A waist-to-height ratio can also be a part of an ideal body weight calculator. To evaluate the waist to height ratio, a person should divide the value of their waist measurement by height. If the result is lower than 0.5, then a person can be considered normal. So if a person is about 6ft (183cm) tall, their waist measurement should be about 81cm (32in).
Ideal Body Weight Calculator And Body Fat Percentage
To determine your ideal body weight, you need to differentiate between overall weight and fat mass. There are 2 types of fat: essential and storage fat.
- Essential Fat
As may be clear from its name, essential fat plays a vital role in the maintenance of the proper functioning of the body. The ideal percentage of essential fat in women is 10-13% and 2-5% for men, respectively.
- Storage Fat
This type of fat helps secure vital internal organs in the chest and stomach region and serves as an additional source of energy. All the extra energy from food, which is not burned, is deposited in the form of storage fat. The amount of storage fat depends on how much caloric surplus a person consumes. Therefore, it is the type of fat that a person would want to reduce in the process of weight loss.
An ideal overall fat percentage for women is 25-30% and 18-25% for men, respectively. A higher body fat percentage indicates that a person is overweight, which is not far from obesity. Too much body fat can increase the risk of such health issues as stroke, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.
To calculate your body fat percentage, use a caliper to measure the tissues of the chest, abdomen, and thigh for men, and the upper arm for women. Other methods include the air densitometry that measures displaced airdual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis, and hydrostatic body fat measuring, which is also referred to as underwater weighing.
Reduce the amounts of unhealthy abdominal fat and excess storage fat with the use of customized workout and meal plans from the BetterMe app.
Conclusion
There are various methods of determining your ideal weight, including an ideal body weight calculator. Your ideal weight is determined by factors such as your age, height, sex, body composition, and others. Remember that your health should always be your number 1 priority, so before getting down to weight loss or gain, please, consult a health specialist.
DISCLAIMER:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!
