How to calculate your level of obesity. Are you really fat?

Obesity and being overweight is quickly becoming an epidemic sized problem for both the United States and Canada. In fact, for Americans over 20, more than 60% qualify as overweight. Information how to effectively determine if you are overweight will be included below. Excessive weight and fat are caused by two major reasons: Unhealthy nutrition and an inactive lifestyle. The side effects experienced from a particular medication or genetic background could cause, whether it be a sudden or drawn out process, a considerable increase in weight.

It is so vital to keep a healthy weight level, it simply cannot be stated enough. It isn’t just a matter of appearances, but rather one of survival. If after calculating your body’s fat percent, it is found that you are overweight, it is recommended that you begin researching weight loss methods as soon as possible.

Untreated obesity along with lack of regular exercise may lead to high blood pressure, arrhythmia, diabetes and other conditions. Many Americans die daily of heart strokes, caused by complications created by obesity. Not only is being overweight frustrating mentally, but it is also quite hazardous.

However, many strategies to effectively lose excess weight and fat are available. It is a matter of setting a goal and pursuing it patiently, without giving up midway (first step is to calculate your body fat percentage and set a realistic goal). However, it is not reasonable to expect to lose 15, 20, or even 25 lbs simply over night through exercise, but it is possible to do so in one to three months. It is imperative that you come up with a reasonable goal for yourself. Otherwise it might lead to disappointments and feelings of discouragement. Furthermore, you should never try to starve yourself to death as this causes unnecessary damage and is completely ineffective. You can also occasionally reward yourself by having a delicious snack or even by treating yourself to a useful health item such as the Fat loss 4 idiots guide (read the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Reviews).

Some great ways your could better speed up your weight loss process: taking hikes, going on jogs, using a treadmill or going to the gym regularly. Exercise is good for weight loss, as it burns calories, but it is also excellent for our health in general. If exercise is engaged in on a regular basis, it helps slow the aging of the body, enhances brain oxygenation, and helps you feel good. Coupled with exercise, your brain will produce endorphins to help soothe any pain you may have. The effect endorphins can be compared to that of heroin or opium, they’re known to be hormones of pleasure. Exercise enables people to experience a natural high that comes with all the advantages resulting from working out.

There is a means by which you could confirm whether or not you are at the average weight for free. This method is known as the Body Mass Index (BMI), a mathematical formula that has been in use for many centuries, and it is an excellent approach for measuring body fat percentage. The Body Mass Index method was created by Adolph Quetelet, a Belgian scientist; the BMI approach enables you to determine whether or not your weight is proportionate to your height. To calculate BMI you will need to take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height in meters –squared.

Consider the following example:

Let’s say you weigh 77.2kg while you stand 1.75 meters tall; consequently, you would multiply 1.75 by itself, thus providing you with the sum of 3.06. Next, you would divide 77.2 (your weight) by 3.06, which then gives you the amount of 25.2 for your Body Mass Index.

There are 4 BMI ranges, 1- less than 18.7 which is underweight, 2- between 18.7 and 24.9 which is optimal weight, 3- BMI between 25 and 29 which is overweight and level 4 BMI of 30+ which is obese.

It is vital to your health to be aware which category you fall into and begin to implement changes if necessary.

By maintaining a healthier body weight, you will have more confidence, spend less money and have greater pleasure in living. Investing your greatest effort in weight loss is definitely worthwhile, and its benefits last a lifetime! You only have one life, so do your best by it and enjoy life.

Am I Overweight?

Since you are visiting this website you more than likely are overweight, or at least you feel as though you are. Perhaps you ask yourself the question that is in the title of this article: Am I Overweight? The answer is often based as much on feelings and emotions as on actual data, and therefore very subjective. In medical and scientific terms:

* You are overweight if you weigh more than your recommended body weight range in the chart you can see on the Am I Overweight page. Another measure is the Body Mass Index (BMI) table on the same page, a figure that represents the percentage of your body weight that is due to fat. It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters. It is BMI = Kg / (m)2 in algebraic terms. Ratings between 26 and 30 are considered overweight, and ratings between 20 and 25 are considered healthy.

* But BMI may overestimate body fat or inaccurately estimate total body fat in muscular persons or those losing muscle, according to the National Heart Blood and Lung Institute. For example, older persons often have lost muscle mass and, therefore, have more fat for a given BMI than younger persons do. That’s why waist measurement is often checked as well. Another reason is that too much body fat in the stomach area also increases disease risk. Waist size of more than 40 inches in men and more than 35 inches in women is considered high.

* You are considered obese if you are more than 20 percent over your recommended body weight range. For example, the chart indicates that a 5’6” person’s recommended weight range goes as high as 154 pounds. Twenty percent of 154 (154 X .2) equals 30.8. Rounded up to 31 and added to the base weight of 154, it would indicate that a person who is 5’6” and weighs 185 is considered to be obese. BMI ratings between 30 and 39 are also considered to be indicative of obesity.

* Being more than 100 pounds over your recommended body weight range, or having a BMI rating of 40 or more, is considered morbidly obese.