The old charts that gave a suitable range of weights for age, sex and height are no longer considered a good guide. They have been replaced by recommendations of a healthy range of Body Mass Index (BMI), which is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. Thus if you weigh 60 kg and are 167 cm tall you would use the following equation:
BMI = 60 ÷ (1.67 X 1.67) = 21.5
The BMI is a rough guide to appropriate weights for people aged 18 and over. It isn’t a suitable measurement for children or adolescents who are still growing. Nor does it apply to people with a large amount of muscle such as athletes in training or body builders.
You have a healthy weight if your BMI is 20-25. Research has shown that people with a BMI within this range have least risk of weight-related health problems. Yet many women who think they’re overweight are not even heavy enough to reach the lower limit of the healthy range.
The media would have us believe that we’re a nation of fat slobs, but you have only to look around to see that this isn’t true. Official figures confirm this observation. The National Health Study of 1989-90 showed that more than half of all Australian women in every age group were within the healthy weight range, and more than twice as many women were underweight as were obese. Among women aged 18-24, more than 10 times as many were underweight as were obese.
However, around 35 per cent of Australian women are overweight or obese. This is a major health problem.
The same study showed that in every age group more men than women were overweight. The degree of slenderness fashionable among women isn’t admired in men. Though in recent years the ‘Norm’ and beer-gut images have been criticised and men are encouraged to be fit, they are admired for having hearty appetites and a bit of ‘beef to their bodies. To be called ‘skinny’ would be insulting to a man, but a compliment to most women.
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