What Is the Best Way to Determine My Ideal Weight?

The body mass index, or BMI, is one of the most popular ways that people can find their ideal weight. This number can typically be found for free online, either in the form of a height weight table or a weight calculator. Most methods of determining BMI take into account weight and height only, which means that muscle and frame size are not typically calculated.

In general, a BMI of 18.5 or less is considered underweight. Above that number and less than 25 is the normal range, and a result over 25 is overweight. A BMI of more than 30 is obese. Considering that muscle weighs more than fat, many athletes are told they are overweight according to this method. For this reason, most doctors recommend that this method of determining ideal weight be used only as a general ballpark figure, especially if you have a lot of muscle.

One procedure that is often considered more accurate for those with muscle is body fat calculation. There are ways to measure body fat percentage online for free, mainly by entering measurements of the neck, waist, and hips into a calculator. Weight, height, sex, and average activity level are also factors that are usually considered. Generally, healthy women have a body fat percentage of 25 to 31%, while men are better off between 18 and 25%. To get a truly accurate result, it is often necessary to go to a gym either be measured with calipers or weighed underwater.

Measuring the waist to hip ratio is another method of figuring out if you are at the ideal weight and in shape in general. First measure the smallest part of the waist, which is typically just above the belly button. Next, the widest part of the hips is measured, and then the waist measurement is divided by the hip measurement. For women, .8 or less carries the lowest chance of heart problems, while up to .89 carries moderate risk, followed by .9 or more with the highest risk. Meanwhile, for men, less than .9 is the healthiest number to have, while up to .99 indicates moderate risk of heart problems, and 1 or more has the highest.

Determining ideal weight is a task that can be done online in most cases. If accurate results are desired, going to a doctor or gym to get it done professionally is likely the best method. Not only can reaching an ideal weight make you feel confident, but you will also likely be at the lowest risk for weight-related medical conditions.

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