The ideal weight is an important assessment that, in addition to helping the person to perceive if they are overweight or underweight, it can also prevent complications such as obesity, diabetes or even malnutrition, which happens when the person is very underweight.
In the case of children, weight should be assessed according to parameters other than BMI. See how to correctly calculate the ideal weight for boys and the ideal weight for girls.
How is the ideal adult weight calculated?
The ideal adult weight is calculated based on the BMI (Body Mass Index), which is calculated using two variables: weight and height. Thus, knowing that a healthy adult should be in a BMI range between 18.5 – 24.9, and knowing each person’s height, it is possible to find the ideal weight range.
Understand better how to calculate BMI and what it is for.
Does age influence weight?
Although age is not a factor included in the BMI calculation, it is a value that ends up influencing how the result is interpreted. This is because older people tend to have a lower BMI result, due to decreased bone density and muscle mass. Thus, the BMI range considered normal for an elderly person should be lower than that of a younger adult.
Is the indicated weight range right for everyone?
No. The healthy weight range indicated is an average taken from the BMI calculation, which was developed to assess all people, without taking into account personal factors such as amount of muscle mass, some health problems or bone density.
Thus, although the BMI helps to calculate an average weight for a large part of the population, its value can be wrong when calculated for some specific cases, especially in athletes or pregnant women, for example. In these cases, the ideal is always to carry out a more detailed assessment with a doctor or nutritionist, who may carry out other assessments to determine body composition, such as bioimpedance or measurement of skinfolds.
Understand better what bioimpedance is:
Why is it important to know your ideal weight?
Knowing the ideal weight range is a good way to assess nutritional status, as when body weight is above ideal it means that the person is eating too many calories, while underweight can mean that the person is eating fewer calories than it should.
In addition, the body weight and BMI value is also directly related to the amount of body fat and, therefore, the higher the BMI value, the greater the accumulation of fat in the body. Generally, people with high levels of fat are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, especially when fat is accumulated in the region of the waist.
People who are overweight, or with a BMI higher than recommended, should also do the “waist-to-hip ratio” calculation, which assesses the risk of cardiovascular problems according to their waist circumference. See how to calculate waist-to-hip ratio.
