A formula called body mass
index (BMI) can be useful in determining whether
or not you're overweight. Basically, BMI is a
height/weight ratio. For adults, according to
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute:
a
BMI of under 18.5 is considered underweight
for adult men and women
a
BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 or less is
considered normal weight in both men and
women
a
BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered
overweight for adult men and women
a
BMI of 30 or above is considered obese in
both men and women (Read about "Obesity")
You can
use our
calculator to determine your BMI. To check
the results, or if the calculator won't work on
your computer, just refer to this
table. Again, NHLBI
says that for both men and women, a BMI under 24
is considered healthy and a BMI of 30 or above
is considered obese. It's important to remember,
though, that BMI is only one measure of your
health. Your percentage of body fat, your blood
pressure, your resting pulse and many other
factors need to be considered too. In addition,
the American Council on Exercise says that
people with higher muscle mass or bone density,
such as athletes for example, may have a higher
BMI, even though their bodies don't have extra
fat. That's because BMI doesn't take body
composition into account, so again, this is
simply a tool. Always check with a qualified
healthcare practitioner about your specific
case.
Nevertheless, BMI can be helpful in determining
if you do have a weight problem. And that's
important. NHLBI says some 97 million adults in
the United States are overweight or obese.
Obesity and overweight substantially increase
the risk of
BMI is
used differently with children than it is with
adults, according to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC). The same charts
are used to establish BMI but what it means is
different. As children grow, their body fatness
will change over the years. The interpretation
of BMI depends on the child's age. Additionally,
girls and boys differ in their body fatness as
they mature. Therefore, BMI-for-age is plotted
on gender-specific growth charts. Each of the
CDC BMI-for-age gender specific charts contains
a series of curved lines indicating specific
percentiles. Healthcare professionals use the
following established percentile cutoff points
to identify underweight and overweight in
children:
Underweight BMI-for-age less than 5th
percentile
At
risk of overweight BMI-for-age 85th
percentile to less than 95th percentile
Overweight BMI-for-age 95th percentile or
above
BMI
decreases during the preschool years, then
increases into adulthood. The percentile curves
reflect this pattern of growth.
If you
have concerns you should discuss them with your
child's doctor.
Lose and
Win is sponsored by Healthy Hancock, a
coalition of organizations working together
to improve the health of residents in
Hancock County.
We
now have 29 Lose and Win teams in Hancock County
participating in the 10 week program to lose
weight and develop a healthy lifestyle.
This week the group lost 314 pounds. The
accumulated weight for 2 weeks is 687 pounds.
“Tons of Fun” from Bucksport returned the
Victory Stick that they won last week, then won
again and took it back to Bucksport. The
“Slim Downs” from Otis and the
"Inn-Credible Shrinking Women & Kevin" from
Deer Isle/ Stonington tied for second and
“Bloomin Optimists” took third place.
The “Inn-Credible Shrinking Women & Kevin”
in Deer Isle were awarded the lobster buoy for
the week. “Operation Flab Off” won the pink sneaker
by accumulating the most minutes of physical
activity during the week. The “Southeast
Shedders” won the pink sneaker in Deer Isle.
