5.12 Ideal Body Weight
Now that you know your body mass index, or BMI, the next term we need to know is “ideal body weight”. This is simply the weight that places you within ideal health. Research shows that if you are at your ideal body weight, your risk of heart attack and death are much lower. In general, a person’s “ideal body weight” will be a weight that puts them somewhere in the normal BMI category. But lets get more specific. Here is the equation:
Males: Ideal body weight = 110 lbs + 5 lbs for each inch over 5 feet tall.
Females: Ideal body weight = 100 lbs + 5 lbs for each inch over 5 feet tall.
Lets look at our first 3 people again and pretend they are men:
Now lets calculate their ideal body weight.
Man 1 Ideal Body Weight = 110 lbs + (5 lbs x 12 inches over 5 ft) = 170 lbs = 10 lbs over his ideal body weight
Man 2 Ideal Body Weight = 110 lbs + (5 lbs x 6 inches over 5 ft) = 140 lbs = 40 lbs over his ideal body weight
Man 3 Ideal Body Weight = 110 lbs + (5 lbs x 0 inches over 5 ft) = 110 lbs = 70 lbs over his ideal body weight
OK then, what if these are ladies we are talking about?
Here are the calculations changing the 110 lbs down to 100 lbs in the formula:
Woman 1 Ideal Body Weight = 100 lbs + (5 lbs x 12 inches over 5 ft) = 160 lbs = 20 lbs over ideal weight
Woman 2 Ideal Body Weight = 100 lbs + (5 lbs x 6 inches over 5 ft) = 130 lbs = 50 lbs over ideal body weight
Woman 3 Ideal Body Weight = 100 lbs + (5 lbs x 0 inches over 5 ft) = 100 lbs = 80 lbs over ideal body weight