I am 43 years old. I put on 4 kilos after my first child and another 5 kilos after the second child. I used to be very thin before marriage. Now I am definitely overweight though my friends say I look good. So what is a healthy weight for me?
What is a healthy weight is a complicated question! We take an overview of several issues- a person’s bone structure, if she is having physical or medical problems due to her weight, and whether she feels good about herself.
Don’t go by the skinny bodies that populate current movies and TV shows. Much as we would like to look like them, it is more reasonable to aim for a weight we are comfortable with. As long as you know you look good and feel great, that is the ideal weight for you.
The best way to determine if you’re at a healthy weight is by getting a measure of your Body Mass Index (BMI).
To figure out your BMI, divide your weight in kilos by your height in meters squared.For example, if you weigh 70 kilos and are 1.6 meters tall, then your BMI is 70 divided by 1.6 x 1.6 i.e. 27.3. If the BMI is over 25, you are considered overweight and at higher risk of developing related complications. If it is lower than 25, you are at a lower risk for developing complications.
Even a small weight loss (just 10 percent of your current weight) will help to lower your risk of developing diseases associated with obesity.
I am 27 years old. I had a medical checkup recently and my doctor said that my fasting blood sugar placed me at risk for developing diabetes later on. He said I should reduce weight. Why does my weight place me at risk for diabetes?
- Being overweight can be dangerous for you if you are already at high risk for developing diabetes. You are at high risk for developing diabetes if:
- your fasting blood sugar 110 mg or higher
- there is a family history of diabetes in a parent, sibling, or child
- you are overweight, especially if more than 20 percent overweight
- if you have excess fat around your waist
- you have had diabetes during pregnancy (known as gestational diabetes) or delivered a baby weighing more than 4 kilos
- you have high blood pressure
- you are not exercising
In your case, since your father is a diabetic, you already have a greater chance of developing diabetes. If you add the fact that you are overweight, it might just tip the balance. If you lose weight and try to get as close to your ideal BMI as possible, you can postpone the development of diabetes by many decades. Exercise is also an important factor. Brisk walking, at least for 30 minutes 5 days a week, can reduce your risk dramatically.
What exactly is meant by being ‘apple shaped’ or ‘pear-shaped’? How does that affect my health?
If you look at an apple, it is widest in the middle whereas a pear is ‘bottom heavy’. If you carry excess weight around your abdomen, and your waist measurement is more than your hip measurement, that means you are an ‘apple’ shape. Those who carry excess fat around the bottom and thighs are ‘pear’ shaped. Excess weight anywhere on the body needs to be reduced, but weight around the waist has serious health implications.
A measuring tape is the cheapest health tool available! Knowing your waist circumference will tell you if you are living with health risks.
Determine your waist circumference by placing a measuring tape around your waist at the level of the umbilicus. It is a good indicator of your abdominal fat.
Excess abdominal fat is associated with high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides and may lead to diabetes and heart disease. This risk increases with a waist measurement of over 100 cm in men and over 85 cm in women. For Indian women, the ideal waist size is less than 80cm (32″).
My husband is 54 years old. He has just been diagnosed as having high blood pressure. He is overweight. I want to help him reach a healthy weight. Any suggestions?
A. I think the entire family should to move toward seating heart-healthy foods. Let there not be two rules: one for the adults in the family and one for the children. If your husband has developed high blood pressure, your children too are at risk for developing hypertension and diabetes as they get older. If you switch to healthier foods, everybody benefits. The best thing that you can do for your hypertensive husband is to use less salt in cooking. Each day, cut back a little on the amount of salt you add to foods. In the beginning, everybody in the family will complain about it but once the palate gets used to less salt, the inherent tastes of the ingredients in the dish will come through. Avoid pickles. Papads are high in salt content. One thing to remember for your children is that ketchup (tomato sauce) is high in salt content.When you shop, buy fruits and vegetables instead of chips and savoury snacks. Switch from rice to wheat and oats. If your family wants rice, restrict it to 1 meal a day (remember idlis and dosas are also rice and need to be counted as a meal with rice). Make sure to trim the fat from any meat that you are cooking. The skin of chicken should be discarded. Egg yolk should be eliminated from the diet or restricted to a maximum of two per week. Use heart-friendly cooking oils like sunflower, safflower and olive oil. Eliminate coconut oil, ghee, butter and hydrogenated oil from your cooking. Skim milk which contains no fat, and double toned milk which contains 2% fat, still contain the milk protein and calcium that adults and children require. The most important thing that you can do for your husband and your family is to create a culture of exercise. Brisk walking would be an ideal start.