What Is a Healthy Weight?

Maintaining a healthy body weight is important to staying healthy. Discussing weight has become taboo and often “the elephant in the room” among family and friends when it comes to sharing health advice. From a medical standpoint it is not an insult, just facts.

What kinds of health problems are linked to overweight and obesity?

• type 2 diabetes.
• high blood pressure.
• heart disease and strokes.
• certain types of cancer.
• sleep apnea.
• osteoarthritis.
• fatty liver disease.
• kidney disease.
• pregnancy problems, such as high blood sugar during pregnancy, high blood pressure, and increased risk for cesarean delivery (C-section).

As people gain weight, their risks for disease increases. For adults, preventing weight gain as you age is critical, no matter your current body weight.

Learn About BMI and a Healthy Weight

Your Body Mass Index or BMI is a measure of how much you weigh compared to how tall you are. Knowing your BMI helps you find out if you are at a healthy weight for your height.

For adults, a healthy weight is defined as the appropriate body weight in relation to height. Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated from your height and weight and is a useful measure of overweight and obesity. People who are overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) have too much body weight for their height.

People who are obese (BMI of 30 or above) almost always have a large amount of body fat in relation to their height. There are exceptions, of course. Big athletes with lots of muscle might have a BMI over 30, but may still have a healthy body composition. They would not be considered obese from the perspective of health risk.

Treatments

Let’s not keep the weight conversation as taboo!