Dr. Tim Says...

What should you weigh?

August 18, 2008

Just as with people’s expectations of how fast they should lose weight, there’s a disconnect these days between what people weigh and what they think they ought to weigh. There are a few ways to look at what your best weight should be, but Body Mass Index (BMI) is one of the most reliable to help you know what a healthy weight is for you.

The BMI is based on a calculation that estimates weight in relation to height. There are more precise measures of weight, but BMI allows researchers a quick and inexpensive way to compare the weight of different populations. It also lets you compare yourself to the findings of researchers on what is considered a healthy weight.

It is pretty clear that being overweight can have serious effects on health. There are well established connections between obesity and illness with heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, breast cancer, colon cancer, arthritis and stroke being the most common problems.

While you have probably heard all of this before, I like to talk with my patients about the real consequences for them of these conditions. If your weight leads to having diabetes or a heart attack will you be able to enjoy your son’s wedding? Will you live to see your daughter’s first child graduate from high school? There’s real pain in carrying around too much weight – arthritis of the knees, difficulty breathing, swelling of the ankles, diabetic foot problems – these are the facts of life for many with a high Body Mass Index.

BMI is a rough estimate of body fat. When I say “rough estimate” I mean both – an estimate and a rough one at best. The limitation is that it doesn’t measure body fat directly.

This table shows the range of weights for a normal Body Mass Index. Your Ideal Body Weight should fall between the weights for a BMI of 19 to 25.

For instance, if you are 63 inches tall (5 foot 3 inches), a good range for a healthy weight is between 107 lbs. and 141 lbs. Look at the table below to see if your weight falls within the normal range – or use the BMI calculator in the right-hand column of this page.

Normal Weight Body Mass Index

BMI	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Height (inches)	Body Weight (pounds)
58	91	96	100	105	110	115	119
59	94	99	104	109	114	119	124
60	97	102	107	112	118	123	128
61	100	106	111	116	122	127	132
62	104	109	115	120	126	131	136
63	107	113	118	124	130	135	141
64	110	116	122	128	134	140	145
65	114	120	126	132	138	144	150
66	118	124	130	136	142	148	155
67	121	127	134	140	146	153	159
68	125	131	138	144	151	158	164
69	128	135	142	149	155	162	169
70	132	139	146	153	160	167	174
71	136	143	150	157	165	172	179
72	140	147	154	162	169	177	184
73	144	151	159	166	174	182	189
74	148	155	163	171	179	186	194
75	152	160	168	176	184	192	200
76	156	164	172	180	189	197	205

Here’s what is considered a normal BMI.

Less than 18.5	underweight
18.5 to 24.9	normal weight
25 to 29.9	overweight
30 or more	obese
greater than 35	very obese.

Now, for some of you this is going to be shocking information. It is amazing to me how disconnected people are today from what a healthy weight should be. While BMI information is not perfect, it is a pretty good guide — especially for the majority of the population.

Don’t worry, you can get to a healthy weight if you are overweight or obese. It does take some planning and work at taking action, but each day you’ll be making a real difference in your health.

One of the most significant issues today with folks getting too many calories is at lunch. It amazes me how many people don’t make their lunch to take to work with them. It is so expensive to eat out these days.

Being very conservative, if you eat lunch out each day and it costs $5.00, that’s $25.00 per week or about $100.00 each month. $1,200.00 per year!

Save your money and save your life! Start making your lunch each day and taking it with you. It takes all of 10 minutes to make a sandwich and put it in a bag with a piece of fruit. This is a critical part of this program. By making your lunch you not only save the money but you are in complete control of the amount of calories you’ll have each day at lunch.

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Last updated: 08/18/08