Healthy Weight Awareness Week 2015 is coming to an end. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is a very urgent public health issue. More then 66% of adults in the United States are classified as overweight or obese. Body Mass Index (BMI) is commonly used to classify people as overweight or obese. I understand that the classifications for overweight (25.0-29.9 BMI) and obese (30.0+ BMI) have their limitations but 66% is very high!
I’m not here to tell you that you need to look like you could walk in front of a camera and be the next model for a magazine. However, being overweight or obese comes with an increased risk of just about every disease and co-morbidity there is. I’ve presented an alternative idea of what a healthy weight is and according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) healthy improvements in chronic disease risk factors (heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.) with as little as 2-3% reduction in excess body weight.
How do you reduce your body weight by 2-3%?
The recommendations are as follows:
- 150-250 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity provides only modest weight loss.
- Greater amounts (ie. >250 minutes) provide clinically significant weight loss.
Moderate-intensity physical activity means what?
The simplest way to to check if your at moderate-intensity is to do the “Talk Test”. While exercising you should be able to talk with mild difficulty. That means you can complete a full sentence but should not be able to string along more then one sentence at a time.
If your a percentages person, that means 50-75% of your max. The easiest way to gauge intensity using percentages is to use Age Predicted Max Heart Rate (APMHR).
220 - (your age) * Percent intensity
Anything else?
Energy/diet/nutrition reductions combined with physical activity & exercise will increase weight loss as compared to diet alone.
For weight maintenance after weight loss and to prevent weight gain 150-250 minutes/week of moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with prevention of weight gain.
If you want to reduce your risk of chronic disease risk factors, lose 2-3% of your body weight and feel great doing it then sign up for your free phone consultation!
References
1) “Appropriate Physical Activity Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for Adults.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Vol. 41, No. 2, pages 459-471.
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
