Body Weight Is Not The Fundamental Measurement Of Health

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Many people who use the bathroom scale are wondering why they do not lose weight when they are exercising, sleeping and eating properly. The common misconception is that body weight is the fundamental measurement of health. Billboard advertisements, books and weight loss supplements have advanced the cause that losing weight means health and gaining weight is the opposite.

The total body mass can be misleading particularly in terms of fitness. Research suggests that in terms of health and longevity, the important measurement is body composition or how much fat and lean muscle an individual has.

A group of researchers have advised doctors, journalists and everybody to stop using the term overweight to stop people from becoming passionate about bathroom scales because the obsession becomes a bigger problem than the weight itself. Total weight of an individual is the most common data point that is used in assessing health.

An individual is classified as overweight if the BMI is greater than 24 and obese when the BMI is more than 29. The scientific community has long accepted that BMI is imperfect otherwise bodybuilders can be classified as obese even if they have more muscle than dense fat. People with low BMI or normal body weight are not as healthy as suggested because it is not diagnostic of the health of an individual.

Almost all researches on health and fitness are oriented on body weight and preventing cardio-metabolic disease based on BMI. However, individuals who are overweight or obese make better informed choices and follow meaningful health goals because of the statistics that they are more prone to heart diseases.

The best example is that females tend to have more fat than males and yet they live longer. The line between overweight and normal weight vary from population to population and there are different techniques that can be considered as a reliable to measure weight.

Sometimes, the problem is not actually weight loss but the annoying layer of belly fat. Through the HCG weight loss diet of lean meat, fruits and vegetables, rapid reduction in weight can be experienced. The embarrassing belly fat is lost because it naturally burns into energy.