Being overweight

Being overweight or obese is one of the major health hazards of today's world, and one which is increasing rapidly. In recent times, two reliable indicators of health risk have emerged body mass index and waist ratios.

Body Mass IndexBMI = weight (kgs)
height (m) x height (m)


BMI is essentially the ratio between your weight and the square of your height, using metric measurements. For example, someone who is 5ft 11in (1.8m) tall, weighing 165lb (75kg) would have a BMI of 75/(1.8 x 1.8) = 75 / 3.24 = 23. Find your Body Mass Index

Waist Ratio
As well as BMI, the waist measurement can be an important indicator. There are two important ratios that have been established as reliable indicators of overweight risk:
waist to height should be less than 0.5 (half)
waist to hip should be less than 0.8 (women) or less than 1 in men.

People with ratios above these values are at increased health risk because of their fat distribution.
Your waist measurement can become an important motivator during the weight loss phase, especially if the customer has not lost any weight because of fluid retention. In this scenario, regular waist measurements will confirm that inches - if not pounds - are still being lost!
Following work done by Dr Margaret Ashwell, the Shape Chart is a reliable indicator of health risk, based on people's shapes - classified as either 'apples or pears'.