The
following calculators should be used for informational purposes
only. They should not be used to diagnosis or treat a specific
medical condition or illness. Always consult your doctor prior
to embarking on an exercise or weight reduction program,
especially if you suffer from a serious medical condition.
Ideal Body Weight
More
than half of U.S. adults are overweight and nearly one-quarter
are considered obese. Overweight refers to an excess of body
weight. The excess weight may come from muscle, bone, fat,
and/or body water. Obesity refers to having an abnormally high
proportion of body fat. An individual can be overweight without
being obese. Competitive athletes and bodybuilders typically
fall into this category due to increased muscle mass.
Being overweight
or obese increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, gallbladder
disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and certain forms of cancer
including uterine, breast, colorectal, kidney and gallbladder.
A
number of methods can be used to determine if you are overweight
or obese. These methods include Body Mass Index (BMI),
Waist-to-Hip Circumference, Body Fat Percentage and
Weight-to-Height Charts. Below, you find several calculators
designed to help assess if you are overweight or obese.
Body Mass Index
Body
Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of your weight relative to your
height and waist circumference. Combining your scores on this
index with information about other health behaviors and family
history, yields important information about your risk for
developing obesity-associated diseases. BMI is the measure of
choice for many physicians and researchers to determine whether
a person is overweight.
BMI's between
19.5 and 24.9 are considered optimal by most health
professionals. A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 is considered overweight,
and one 30.0 or above is considered obese. Some very muscular
people may have a high BMI without it meaning that they have an
increased health risk for obesity related diseases.
As BMI levels
rise, average blood pressure and total cholesterol levels
increase and average HDL (good cholesterol) levels decrease.
Individuals with abnormally high BMI are at an increased risk of
illness from the following:
- High Blood Pressure
- Lipid Disorders
- Type II Diabetes
- Coronary Heart Disease
- Cardiovascular
Complications
- Stroke
- Gall Bladder Disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Sleep Apnea
- Respiratory Problems
- Endometrial Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Colon Cancers
- High Cholesterol
- All-Cause Mortality
(Death)
Waist-to-Hip Ratio
In addition to determining your BMI, you should
calculate your waist-to-hip ratio. It is very clear that
excess body fat on your body is detrimental to your health,
to say the least. Of further importance is the distribution
of this body fat on your body. In other words, where the fat
is stored on your body has major health implications and may
lead to complications.
Research has shown that individuals
with more fat on the trunk of the body, especially abdominal
fat, have an increased risk of hypertension (high blood
pressure), type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol,
coronary artery disease (CAD) and premature death. Researchers believe that
centralized fat deposits (waist) release fat into the blood,
which in turn, is thought to increase the production of LDL
(bad) cholesterol.
To determine
your waist-to-hip ratio, measure your waist at its narrowest
point (typically belly button) and measure your hips at
their widest point with a tape measure.
Body Fat Measurement
Measurement of body fat is considered the superior
method for assessment of weight loss. When an individual
claims that they want to "lose weight," what they often mean
is that they want to lose fat.
Your body fat
percentage is simply the percentage of fat your body
contains. If you are 200 lbs. and 10% fat, it means that
your body consists of 20 lbs. fat and 190 lbs. lean body
mass (bone, muscle, organ tissue, blood and everything
else). A certain amount of fat is essential to bodily
functions as it helps to regulate body temperature, cushions
and insulates organs and tissues, and is the main form of
the body's energy storage.
The following are acceptable
ranges for body fat.
|
Women (%
Fat) |
Men (%
Fat) |
Athletes |
14-20 |
6-13 |
Fitness |
21-24 |
14-17 |
Acceptable |
25-31 |
18-25 |
Obese |
32 plus |
25 plus |
Daily Caloric Requirements
Your
daily caloric requirements are based on your sex, age, body weight
and activity level. Our automated calculator will help you to
determine the number of calories you need to maintain your current
body weight. If you are attempting to lose weight, you should
reduce your daily caloric requirement and increase your activity
level.
Target Heart Rate
To
obtain the greatest health benefits from your aerobic workout,
you'll need to exercise within your target heart zone. To
see if you are exercising within your target heart zone,
count the number of pulse beats at your neck or wrist for 15
seconds, then multiply by four to get the beats per minute. Your
heart should be beating within your target heart rate zone.
If your heart is
beating faster than your target heart rate, you are exercising too
hard and should slow down. If your heart is beating slower than
your target heart rate, you should exercise a little harder. The
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that the
intensity of aerobic exercise be between 60 to 90% of your maximum
heart rate.
Calories Burned Through Exercise
Ever
wonder how many calories your are burning while exercising? This
calculator will provide you with an approximate number of calories
burned for over 50 activities! Give it a try!
Annual Cost of Cigarette Smoking
It
shouldn't surprise you to read that smoking cigarettes is harmful
to your health; most smokers have grown familiar with seeing the
Surgeon General's Warning on every pack of cigarettes sold in the
US since 1965. In this country, lung disease is responsible for
one in seven deaths. Quitting smoking not only "greatly reduces
serious risks to your health" but it also can greatly increase
your disposable income.
Smokers in the US spend nearly $50 million
annually on cigarettes. How much of that money did you kick in?
Use this calculator to determine how much you spend on cigarettes
each year--and how much you would save if you quit.
|