Healthy Weight

A healthy weight is the weight your body naturally settles into when you consistently eat a nutritious diet, are physically active, and balance the calories you eat with the physical activity you do.

But weight is only one measure of your health. People who are thin but don't exercise or eat nutritious foods aren't necessarily healthy just because they are thin. A person who is overweight according to body mass index (BMI) charts may be healthy if he or she eats a variety of healthy foods and exercises regularly.

How much you eat is not the only determinant of your weight. Your age, metabolism, genetics, and physical activity level also play an important role in your weight, health, and risk for disease. So it's important that you avoid comparing yourself to others and that you determine the lifestyle changes you need to make to maintain a healthy weight.

Nutrition is an extremely important component of being healthy. Consistently eating a balanced diet is far better than dieting for quick weight loss and then returning to your previous eating habits.

Physical activity is key to improving your health and preventing serious illness. Experts advise doing either of these things to get and stay healthy:²

• Do moderate activity for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more. Moderate activity is equal to a brisk walk, cycling about 10 to 12 miles per hour (mph), sailing, or shooting hoops. You notice your heart beating faster with this kind of activity.
• Do vigorous activity for at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week or more. Vigorous activity is equal to jogging, cycling at least 12 mph, cross-country skiing, or playing a basketball game. You breathe rapidly and your heart beats much faster with this kind of activity.

Being active in several chunks of 10 minutes or more throughout the day can count towards the above recommendations. You can choose to do one or both types of activity. Always ask your doctor whether it is safe for you to start a fitness program.

Regular moderate-intensity physical activity reduces the risk of:³

• Coronary artery disease.
• High blood pressure.
• Stroke.
• Type 2 diabetes.
• Obesity.
• Breast cancer, colon cancer, and cancers of the female reproductive system.
• Anxiety.
• Depression.

Other things to consider about your weight include:

• Your body mass index (BMI), which is based on your height and weight. Your risk of weight-related diseases may increase if your weight is above or below the recommended BMI range. BMI measurements may be misleading if you are muscular or if you have lost a lot of muscle mass. To calculate your BMI, see the body mass index (BMI) chart.
• Your waist circumference, which is the distance around your body at the level of your belly button. Waist measurement can help find out how much fat you have stored around your belly. People who are "apple-shaped" and store fat around their belly are at increased risk for diseases associated with being overweight compared with people who are "pear-shaped" and store most of their fat around their hips.

What to think about

Body fat testing is sometimes used to help find out if a person is at a healthy weight. But it can be inaccurate. It is also more expensive and time-consuming than measuring BMI or waist measurement. For these reasons, health professionals rarely use body fat percentage to measure a person's risk for weight-related diseases.