Healthy Weight

Before you start making changes, find out where you are with your weight, relationship with food, eating habits, and fitness level. Think about your readiness to change. What are the benefits you want to achieve? What are your barriers to making lifestyle changes? What healthy lifestyle habits do you have already? What do you need to change?

Are you overweight?

Check your BMI. See the body mass index for adults.

If your BMI is elevated, the next step is to measure your waist. You can do this by placing a tape measure around your body at the level of your belly button. You may be at increased risk for health problems if you are:⁴

• A man with a waist measurement greater than 40 in. (101.6 cm).
• A woman with a waist measurement greater than 35 in. (88.9 cm).

If you are:

• Within the recommended BMI range and your waist measurement is lower than the number that is considered a health risk, maintain that weight.
• In the overweight category (BMI of 25 to 29.9) but your waist measurement is lower than the number that is considered a health risk, maintain that weight.
• In the overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) or obese (BMI of 30 and above) category and your waist measurement is too high, talk to your doctor about other weight-related health problems you have. Weight-related health problems include coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. If you have more than two risk factors, your doctor will probably advise you to lose weight and change your eating and physical activity habits.⁴

No matter what your BMI and waist measurement are, it is important to your health to eat well and be physically active.

What are your eating habits?

Think about what, when, and where you eat. What are the social and environmental influences that affect your eating?

• Do you eat regular, planned meals or do you grab food on-the-go?
• Are you eating a balanced, healthy diet that contains whole grains, fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, legumes, and lean meats?
• Do you drink more than a moderate amount of alcohol? Drinking too much alcohol contributes to weight gain. If you are a man and drink more than two alcoholic drinks a day or a woman and drink more than one alcoholic drink a day, reduce the amount you drink. If you need help cutting down or stopping your drinking, see the topic Alcohol Use and Dependence.

What are your physical activity habits?

Do you need to be more physically active? Are you active almost every day? You may be able to lower your risk of developing many illnesses, especially long-term (chronic) diseases, if you are physically active. If you already have a chronic disease, being physically fit may keep the disease from getting worse. If you are not physically active or want to become more active, see the topic Fitness.

What is your lifestyle like?

Consider the following:

• Do you need to stop smoking? Weight gain is a big concern for many people who want to quit smoking. However, many people don't gain weight when they quit smoking. Becoming more active can help prevent weight gain and increase your chances of successfully quitting smoking. For more information, see weight gain while quitting smoking and the topic Quitting Tobacco Use.
• Do you need to lower your stress level? Stress can have a serious impact on your health, especially if it lasts for a long time. If you have a lot of stress in your life, it can be hard to focus on making healthy changes to your lifestyle. For more information about how to deal with stress, see the topic Stress Management.