Learn How Your Weight Can Affect Your Overall Health

Weight is a significant factor in determining if you are healthy or not—no wonder why most people are conscious about their weight. Monitoring and maintaining weight is not all about maintaining a good physical appearance; it’s also about your overall health.

If you want to learn how your weight can affect your overall health, keep reading to find out.

How to Know If Your Weight Is in a Healthy Range

Before anything else, you must know if your weight is within the healthy range. One way to tell is to calculate your body mass index (BMI). BMI can provide you with a reliable indicator of your body fat, and you can use it to screen your weight category. 

Your BMI can tell if you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. If you find out that your weight is in the range of overweight or obese, be careful because you are more likely to suffer from certain diseases and other health problems. 

Here’s a guide to know where your BMI falls among the weight ranges: 

• Underweight – If your BMI is less than 18.5
• Normal or Healthy Weight Range – If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight – If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9
• Obese – If your BMI is 30.00 or higher

What Are Other Ways to Assess Your Weight?

You can also assess your weight by measuring your waistline. It’s also an effective way to know if you are at risk of developing obesity-related conditions, like heart disease, heart blood pressure, diabetes, and other diseases.

If you’re a man, you can know if you’re at a risky range if your waist circumference is more than 40 inches. If you’re a non-pregnant woman, having a waist circumference of more than 35 inches is already risky. 

What Will Happen If You Have an Excess Weight?

Having excessive abdominal fat can categorize you as overweight or obese. The more fat, the more likely you are to suffer from obesity-related conditions, like diabetes, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and coronary artery diseases. You will also have an increased risk for hypertension, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and other respiratory problems. Moreover, you will not be safe from having cancer in different parts of your body, like in your esophagus, pancreas, colon and rectum, breast, kidney, gallbladder, and thyroid. 

What Will Happen If You Are Underweight?

It’s not only being overweight or obese that can take a toll on your health. Being underweight is also risky for your health. If you are underweight, you will more likely suffer from anemia and nutrient deficiencies, bone loss and osteoporosis, heart irregularities, blood vessel diseases, and amenorrhea for women. Your vulnerability to infection and disease will also increase, and you will experience delayed wound healing. 

Conclusion

As you can see, your weight can significantly affect your overall health. That’s why as much as possible, you must maintain your weight within the normal range. Otherwise, you will be at risk of having diseases and specific conditions. To maintain your weight within the normal range, you should follow a healthy eating plan, keep your calorie needs in mind, and do some exercises. 

If you’re looking for medical weight loss solutions in Birmingham, AL, Weigh to Wellness has got what you need! We offer weight loss programs overseen by board-certified medical professionals with over 25 years of experience in weight management. Sign up with one of our programs today!