Summary: Many weight watchers come to the conclusion that they are overweight simply by looking at others or in the mirror without looking for a generic medium to check and confirm or disprove their suspicions.
It is not enough to assume you are overweight simply by considering a lady that wears a size 6 dress or because your thighs are bigger than most. Make your confirmations through a standard set of measurements that confirm the accuracy or inaccuracy of your submission.
One of such base measurements is the BMI (Body Mass Index) or Quetelet Index. This is the measurement of one’s size in relation to weight. This in simple terms purports that a 75Kg lady at 5 feet may seem overweight while another of the same weight but who is 11 inches taller will look just right. The body mass index discovered by Belgian Astronomer (Adolphe Quetelet) is calculated (this is the mathematical angle to it) using: your mass (in Kilograms) divided by your height in Meters square. However if you work more with the pound (lbs) and inches (INS) as mediums of measurement than with the Kilogram and meter squared, you divide the body mass in pounds by the height in inches multiplied by 703.
Based on the BMI you are either in your ideal weight range, underweight, overweight or obese.
The ideal weight range should fall within: 18.5 and 24.9 after following the small calculation above.
You are underweight if your range falls below 18.5.
If your BMI falls within 25 and 29.9, you can be considered to be overweight
Finally, if your BMI is 30 and above you are obese.
There is however one downside to using the BMI; as this works for fat-induced excess weight, it doesn’t have an answer for someone like former California State Governor – Arnold Schwarzenegger who by weight standards will either be overweight or “obese” based on the amount of muscle per kilogram that he packs into his body. Since he is “super fit”, and we are sure he doesn’t fall under normal weight as he like other bodybuilders are larger and heavier than their average “non-gyming” counterparts, under what category do we fit him or them in?
Whatever logical conclusions we arrive at after all angles are considered, the BMI is a veritable tool to measure body mass in relation to height. This gives you an idea of how many pounds you need to shed if you want to be as fit as fiddle. Know your BMI today.
