Ideal weight it's the BMIthese are very important issues that allow us to make inferences about our health. Low weight can be related, for example, to malnutrition, and a high weight may be indicative of obesity, being, therefore, essential to be at the ideal weight. People are still concerned about the aesthetic issue, and weight is often associated with the standard of beauty considered ideal by society.
O BMI is an index that indicates whether a person's weight matches their height. However, it must be borne in mind that analysis solely using this index does not adequately reflect an individual's health.
Read too: 10 leading causes of death in the world
Ideal weight and BMI
The ideal weight is often calculated based on the Body Mass Index — BMI. This index is calculated by a person's weight divided by their height squared. See the formula:
BMI = Weight (kg)/height2 (meters) |
Imagine, for example, that a person is 1.70 m tall and weighs 70 kg. The calculation of your BMI is done as follows:
|
BMI = 70/1,702 BMI = 70/2,89 BMI = 24,22 |
Now, you need to analyze this data. For this, the person must compare the obtained result with reference values. See the table:
BMI Interpretation | |
BMI |
Diagnosis |
less than 18.5 |
Low weight |
between 18.5 and 24.9 |
normal weight |
between 25 and 29.9 |
overweight |
between 30 and 34.9 |
grade I obesity |
between 35 and 39.9 |
grade II obesity |
greater than 40 |
grade III obesity |
When we analyze the proposed example, we conclude that the person in question is of normal weight. Indexes above 24.9 deserve attention, since overweight is the stage before obesity, and this is considered a dangerous chronic disease that affects many people worldwide. It is also worth noting that obesity is a risk factor for serious health problems, such as cardiovascular problems, high pressure, diabetes and joint problems. Low weight also deserves attention, as it can indicate problems such as malnutrition.
It is important to make it clear that BMI alone is not capable of providing completely secure information about a person's health, requiring further analysis. Analysis of fat percentage and measurement of waist circumference (Abdominal fat is considered a risk factor, for example, for cardiovascular diseases) are some of the data that can complement the data obtained with the calculation of the BMI.
Read too: What is lean mass?
BMI Problems
Although BMI is one of the most adopted indexes when it comes to ideal weight, it has certain limitations. The first one is the fact that he not taking into account the individual's body composition. This means that, when calculating the BMI, you only know your total body weight, not knowing if this weight refers to muscle or fat, which can lead to misinterpretations of ideal weight.
If we take a kilogram of muscle and a kilogram of fat, we will find that, despite having the same weight, the fat will take up more space than the muscle. As a result, a person with developed muscles may have a high BMI, even if it doesn't appear to be visually so. We should also remember that some people who are visibly thin may have unhealthy body fat and have a normal BMI. To know the amount of lean mass and fat present in the body, the individual can perform the bioimpedance test, which is capable of detecting these indexes.
In addition to the problem related to the individual's body composition, we cannot fail to point out that BMI should only be used in adults. For children, age analysis is also done.
By Vanessa Sardinha Santos
Biology teacher
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/saude-na-escola/peso-ideal.htm
