Ideal weight is an important assessment that, in addition to helping people understand whether they are over or underweight, can also prevent complications such as obesity, diabetes or even malnutrition, which happens when a person is very underweight.
To find out the weight range considered ideal for an adult, enter the data into the calculator:
In the case of children, weight must be assessed according to parameters other than BMI. See how to correctly calculate the ideal weight for boys and the ideal weight for girls.
How is ideal adult weight calculated?
The ideal adult weight is calculated based on the BMI (body mass index), which is calculated using two variables: weight and height. Thus, knowing that a healthy adult should be in a BMI range between 18.5 – 24.9, and knowing each person’s height, it is possible to discover the weight range considered ideal.
Understand better how to calculate BMI and what it is for.
Does age influence weight?
Although age is not a factor included in the BMI calculation, it is a value that ends up influencing how the result is interpreted. This is because elderly people tend to have a lower BMI result, due to a decrease in bone density and muscle mass. Therefore, the BMI range considered normal for an elderly person must be lower than that of a younger adult.
Is the indicated weight range ideal for everyone?
No. The indicated healthy weight range is an average made from the BMI calculation, which was developed to evaluate all people, without taking into account personal factors, such as the amount of muscle mass, some health problems or bone density.
Therefore, although BMI helps to calculate an average weight for a large part of the population, its value may be wrong when calculated for some specific cases, especially in athletes or pregnant women, for example. In these cases, the ideal is to always carry out a more detailed assessment with a doctor or nutritionist, who can carry out other assessments to determine body composition, such as bioimpedance or measuring skinfolds.
Understand better what bioimpedance is:
Why is it important to know your ideal weight?
Knowing the ideal weight range is a good way to assess nutritional status, as when body weight is above ideal it means that the person is eating excess calories, while lower than ideal weight can mean that the person is consuming fewer calories. than it should.
Furthermore, the value of body weight and BMI is also directly related to the amount of body fat and, therefore, the higher the BMI value, the greater the accumulation of fat in the body. Generally, people with high levels of fat are at greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, especially when fat is accumulated around the waist.
People over the ideal weight, or with a BMI higher than recommended, should also calculate the “waist-hip ratio”, which assesses the risk of cardiovascular problems according to waist circumference. See how to calculate the waist-to-hip ratio.
Bibliography
- ESCOTT Sylvia. Nutrition related to diagnosis and treatment. 6th. Brazil: Manole, 2011. 587-617.
- MAHAN, L. Kathleen et al. Krause: Food, Nutrition and Diet Therapy. 13.ed. São Paulo: Elsevier Editora, 2013. 165-168.
