If you can manage to eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet, as well as have some daily
physical activity, you are more likely to be healthy, as well as stabilise your weight into the desired 'healthy weight range'. Modern standard measures of a 'healthy weight' are now calculated by what is called your 'body mass index'. This is an estimation of your ideal weight range, in relation to your height. Caregivers will often use a 'body mass index' chart (or BMI chart) to visually estimate where you may be on this scale of measurement.
Image 65-01shows a body mass index chart (or BMI) to illustrate where you may be in terms of having a healthy weight.
Your body mass index can be calculated by:
| BMI = |
weight (kg) |
| height (m)2 |
Therefore, if you are 70 kg in weight, and 168 centimetres tall, you would calculate this by:
NOTE: To convert pounds into kilograms you divide the number of pounds by 2.2 (for example 136 lbs ÷ 2.2 = 61.8 kg). To convert inches to metres, you divide the inches by 39.37 (for example 5 foot 6 inches = 66 inches, 66 ÷ 39.37 = 1.67 metres, or 167 centimetres).
As a guide, a BMI of:
 |
Less than 20 means that you are underweight for your height, and should aim to put on more weight, if possible. |
|
20 to 25 means you are within a healthy weight range. |
|
Over 25 means you are overweight for your height, and should aim to lose some weight. |