Delaware Chiropractors - Dr Damon Cozamanis

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.

 


Copyright 2006 Dr. Damon Z. Cozamanis, D.C.
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