Is your weight healthy?
- Is your weight within the healthy weight ranges suggested for adult men and women in the chart, "Are You at a Healthy Weight?" on the next page? Weight ranges are shown in the chart because people of the same height may have equal amounts of body fat but may have different amounts of muscle and bone. The higher weights in the healthy weight range apply to people with more muscle and bone.
- Where is your body fat located? For adults, body shape as well as actual body weight is important to health. Adults with too much fat in the abdomen (stomach area) are at greater risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension than adults whose fat is more concentrated in the hips and thighs. The easiest way to check your body fat distribution is to measure around your waistline with a tape measure and compare this with the measure around your hips or buttocks to see if your abdomen is larger. If you are in doubt, you may seek advice from a health professional.
- Do you have a medical problem, such as abnormal blood fat measurements (see next section), for which your doctor advised you to lose weight? If your weight is within the healthy range in the chart, if your body fat location does not place you at risk, and if you have no medical problem for which your doctor advises you
Lesson Contents
I. Introduction
II. Is Your Weight Healthy?
III. Are Your Blood Fat Measurements Normal?
IV. What is Low-Fat Living?
V. How do I Reduce My Fat and Cholesterol Intake?
VI. References
