Maintain a healthy attitude to weight the BMI way

January has always been a key-time of year to make that resolution to ‘beat the bulge’ and quite often people try and kick start their weight loss with an often quite severe and unrealistic dieting regime. This can result in sudden lapses, feelings of guilt, followed by renewed efforts to get ‘back on the wagon’ – often the classic beginnings of a yo-yo diet, which we now know is neither effective nor a safe and healthy way to live.

It is often claimed that this trend for dieting has been exacerbated by Britain’s celebrity-obsessed culture, with ultra-slim stars constantly in the media. The end result is that both women and men (and not just the teenagers who you would expect to react to peer pressure) feel they have to achieve the “perfect figure”, perhaps encouraging even more radical dieting habits.

A healthy attitude to take to weight would be to monitor your Body Mass Index (BMI) and to ensure that your BMI falls within the correct levels for your height, sex and age. From this you can then determine whether you should be losing weight or not. The level that is considered most healthy is a BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9, anything below that and you are considered underweight. If you fall into the 25 – 27.9 bracket then you would benefit from losing some weight and scores of 28 or more means that your long-term health may be at risk. The fact that the healthy BMI ratio is quite broad takes into account different body shapes and sizes and means that you don’t have to go back on a diet the minute you move up one point on the Index – it is time to accept that it is OK for your weight to fluctuate slightly.

Your BMI ratio can be more useful if you also know the percentage of body fat in your body; this is because if you are particularly muscular you may weigh heavier, which could skew your BMI ratio, but if you also know your body fat percentage then this can help. The body fat is measured by a method known as 'Bioelectric Impedance'. A very low level electrical signal is sent through the body; the signal travels quicker through lean tissue, which contains a high percentage of water, than it does through fat tissue that has a low percentage of water. The reading obtained is then applied to a scientific formula along with the user's weight, height and age and the body fat % is calculated.

If your initial BMI Index does not fall within the healthy limit then there is a quick measure to assess how much weight you may need to lose or gain; to lose one unit on the BMI Index you should aim to lose approximately 6 lbs. This is a good realistic figure, so for those people who want to change their BMI by several units could perhaps focus on one unit at a time.

There is obviously a mass of different slimming regimes on offer, everything from the radical Grapefruit Diet through to food group diets such as Atkins or calorie controlled plans such as Weightwatchers. However for January 2008, health and beauty retailer Boots has undertaken the BMI Index for weight-loss plans and with the aid of a fitness expert, dietician, psychologist and GP has pulled together hints and tips to maintaining a healthy BMI in the New year and beyond.

So, the key to a healthy lifestyle and a healthy body might not just be about changing your weight, it’s also about changing your attitude to your weight.

About the Author

Elisha Burberry is an online, freelance journalist and keen traveller and watersports enthusiast. Originally from Scotland, she now resides in London.