NORMAL WEIGHT

Normal Weight

Guidelines for Healthy Weight Frederick R. Jelovsek MD What should I weigh? The answer might be based on your age (older women will need to weigh less) , on your desire to be at low risk for death due to obesity-related diseases, or just according to how you wish your body to look. As far as your health goes, avoiding an excessive amount of body fat is the best way to lower your risk from heart disease, surgery for weight loss normal weight hypertension, diabetes and even from developing gall bladder disease. Sometimes, it is questionable as to what is ideal body weight. A recent journal supplement, Chez RA (ed.): Weighing the options on managing obesity. Contemporary Ob/Gyn 1999; June supplement:3-30, looks at the issues of weight and health and what is the best way to manage weight problems. Is the body mass index (BMI) the best measure of how much fat is in my body? Body mass index, BMI, is normal weight normal weight only an indirect measurement of body fat. For scientific research purposes there are more accurate methods of measuring what percent of a body's weight is composed of fat such as hydrodensitometry (underwater weighing) and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Physical measurements such as waist and hip circumferences and skin fold thickness in the back of the elbow are also used. The BMI happens to be the most commonly used measurement in epidemiologic studies and for middle-aged men and women, obesity history normal weight it correlates over