Numbers Alone Don't Determine Healthy Weight
ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Numbers alone aren't enough to tell you whether your weight is healthy, according to a new service on Mayo Clinic Health Oasis, www.mayohealth.org.
"Calculations such as body mass index (BMI) are important, but they don't tell the whole story," says Dr. Donald Hensrud, Mayo Clinic physician nutritionist.
BMI -- a more valuable measurement of body fat and health risks than the bathroom scale or weight-for-height tables -- indicates whether you're classified as "overweight" or "obese." (An estimated 55 percent of U.S. adults fall into these two categories.)
"But your lifestyle, as well as your personal and family medical history, also play an important role in weight-related health risks," Dr. Hensrud says.
"All of these factors must be considered to answer what should be your primary consideration regarding your weight, and that is: 'Would losing pounds lower your risk for weight-related disease?'" Dr. Hensrud says.
The new interactive "Weight Assessment" on Mayo Clinic Health Oasis is designed to help you answer this question (http://www.mayohealth.org/mayo/9707/htm/weight.htm). It calculates BMI and asks a series of simple questions, such as whether you gained more than 20 pounds as an adult. It then indicates whether losing weight would likely lower your risk for weight-related complications such as diabetes, high blood fats, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and sleep apnea.
"People classified as 'overweight' may not benefit equally from weight loss," Dr. Hensrud says. "The Weight Assessment shows that, for some people, a reasonable goal is to maintain their current weight, not lose weight."
The Weight Assessment -- based on Mayo's clinical experience and obesity guidelines from the National Institutes of Health -- also provides links to practical, helpful information about losing weight safely.
"If you're among the millions of people worldwide who would benefit from losing weight, I'd suggest making a healthier lifestyle -- not just the number of pounds -- your primary motivation," advises Dr. Hensrud.
If the Weight Assessment suggests that you should lose weight, keep these tips in mind: * Talk to your doctor before attempting to lose weight. * Set a realistic goal. Try to lose weight slowly and steadily -- about 1 or 2 pounds per week. * Focus on healthful foods that you can eat. * Maintain a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and no tobacco.
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis, www.mayohealth.org, is a free health information site, designed to provide people with reliable answers and advice. The site has more than 6,000 pages of content and receives more than one million visits each month.
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