Healthy Weight for Men
We come in all shapes and sizes but what is a healthy weight for men and how does it change with our height? There are several arguments as to how to approach this but for the purposes of most people the Body Mass Index method is a useful way to try to answer the question.
Using the BMI method, the range of healthy weight for men is a weight for height ratio which results in a BMI of more than 18.5 and less than 25. Less than 18.5 indicates you are underweight, greater than 25 indicates you are overweight. BMI results of 30 and above indicate obesity and an urgent need to do something about it.
How do you calculate your BMI? (It is easier in metric measurements):
BMI = Weight in Kilos / (Height in meters x Height in meters) or
in the old pounds and ounces way of looking at it we have to change the calculation a little to:
BMI = 703 x { Weight in Pounds / (Height in inches x Height in inches) }
So for example a man of 85 kilos (187lbs) at a height of 1.8m (71 inches) would have a BMI of 85/(1.8 x 1.8) = 85/3.24 = 26.2 which indicates him to be a little overweight.
We can compare that to the old style height and weight charts in pounds and see that result is pretty much in accordance with the height and weight indicated for a large framed man.
While BMI serves as a guide it is important to treat it as an indicator only, it does not allow for different body types, shapes or muscle mass but is nonetheless a useful guide.
