We weigh ourselves day in and day, hoping, praying for the weighing scale to show that we have lost weight…
But all of these efforts could be for nothing! No, we don’t mean that there is something wrong in your weighing scale; we are just telling you that weight is not the only measure of health! Surprised? Read on…
For long we believed that weighing scale never lies, but the fact remains that weighing yourself is a poor way of measuring your level of fitness, wellness and overall health. This is because; your weight is only one measure of your health. It does not factor in your height, your build, your body fat, your lean muscle tissue or your bone density. And all of these go a long way in determining how healthy you are. Moreover, your health and fitness also show on the way you look and the way you feel. But weight turns a blind eye to these as well.
So, along with weight, what else do you need to know?
BMR:
This calories calculator gives an approximation of your basal metabolic rate - the number of calories your body burns per day. For most people, the BMR accounts for the majority of the calories burned. As you get older, you tend to exercise less, and thereby burn lesser calories. Hence, there is a tendency to put on weight and other things being equal, your BMR decreases. Your basal metabolism is greatly affected by the quantity of muscles you have, therefore increasing your muscle mass will help increase your basal metabolism. Having a higher BMR will increase the number of calories used and help to decrease the body fat. A low BMR will make it harder to lose body fat and overall weight.
Calculate: The basic way of calculating BMR is a standard equation using weight and age. Also, if your goal is to lose weight by burning off excess body fat, aim to eat 500 fewer calories per day than your daily caloric needs, and maintain or increase your exercise activity. If your BMR is higher than your actual age, it is an indication that you need to improve your metabolic rate.
Body fat percentage:
This is the amount of body fat as a proportion of your body weight. Reducing excess levels of body fat has shown to reduce the risk of certain conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Calculate: The way to know your body fat percentage is through a range indicator – under, healthy, over, and obese. These readings are taken keeping into account your age and gender.
Total Body water percentage:
This indicates the total amount of fluid in a person’s body expressed as a percentage of their total weight. Water plays a vital role in many of the body’s processes and it is important to maintain a healthy total body water percentage. It is important to look for long term changes in the total body water percentage and maintain a consistent, healthy body water percentage. It is advisable to monitor all readings over time to track the relative change.
Calculate:
As a guide the average total body water percentage ranges for a healthy adult are from 45 to 60% for female and 50 to 65% for male. The total body water percentage will tend to decrease as the percentage of body fat increases. A person with a high percentage of body fat may fall below the average body water percentage and vice versa.
Visceral fat
This provides information about the amount of visceral fat in your body. Visceral fat is the fat that is in the internal abdominal cavity, surrounding the vital organs in the abdominal area. Research shows that even if your weight and body fat remains constant, as you get older the distribution of fat changes and is more likely to shift to the abdominal area especially post menopause. Ensuring you have healthy levels of visceral fat can reduce the risk of diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and the onset of Type 2 diabetes. Note: even if you have a low body fat rate, you may have a high visceral fat level.
Calculate:
In a visceral fat rating that ranges from 1-59, the ratings are broadly divided into three parts - rating from 1-9 indicates healthy level of visceral fat. Rating 10-14 indicates a slight excess of internal body fat and those falling in this range are must make some lifestyle changes Rating 15 -59 indicates an excess level of visceral fat and those falling in this range must consider a change in their diet and an increasing exercise.
Bone mass
This feature indicates the amount of bone (bone mineral level, calcium or other minerals) in the body. While bone structure is unlikely to make noticeable changes in a short period, it is important that you develop and maintain healthy bones by having a balanced diet and plenty of exercise. People who suffer from osteoporosis or low bone densities due to advanced age, young age, pregnancy, hormonal treatment or other causes, may not get accurate estimations of their bone mass.
Below is the result of estimated bone masses of persons aged 20 to 40, who are said to have the largest amounts of bone masses, by weight.
Women: Average of estimated bone mass
Men: Average of estimated bone mass
Lean Body Mass (LBM) / Body Fat %: Unlike BMI, your Lean Body Mass and Body Fat percentage tells you how many pounds of your body are made up of lean tissue and how many pounds are made up of fat. Lean body mass is simply an estimation of how much you weigh without the body fat - how much your bones, organs and muscles weigh. As the other factors are assumed to be relatively static, by monitoring your LBM you can get a fairly accurate estimate of the amount of muscle you are gaining or losing. Your goal is to lose fat and gain muscle. Your LBM can give you an accurate picture of where your training is taking you.
The way you Feel, look and wear:
There are some things that you get to know, even before you approach your weighing and measuring scales. And these are a part of your everyday living, for instance, do you get tired soon after any small activity, are you now able to climb that once dreaded staircase without having to stop midway in order to catch your breath? Do you always feel dull? These are indicators of your poor health. Similarly, if you look fit and healthy in the first glance, and if you have healthy proportions to your body, you probably are healthy. If you have always been a certain size and suddenly you notice that you are no more fitting into your clothes, it might indicate a change in your health, weight and even your lean body mass.
Now that you are convinced that just being thin doesn’t mean healthy nor is being overweight necessarily mean you are unhealthy, go tell others!
