The Arthritis Helpbook by Kate Lorig

Author:Kate Lorig
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2010-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Managing a Healthy Weight

Attaining and maintaining a healthy weight is especially important for people with arthritis. Your weight can have a considerable impact on your disease symptoms, and your ability to exercise or to otherwise manage your disease. Therefore, finding a healthy weight and maintaining it are central elements of the self-management process. But what is a healthy weight?

What it isn’t is a specific “ideal” weight such as those commonly found in weight tables. Ideal weights in tables are only guidelines based on population statistics. They are not meant to be used to determine a healthy weight. Being at a healthy weight does not mean being thin or skinny like popular images portrayed in the media. Being at a very low weight is unrealistic, if not unachievable, and at the very least is not sustainable for the vast majority of people. Indeed, being too thin can be just as bad for your health as being too fat. Moreover, you should think in terms of a healthy weight range; nearly all of us will vary up and down a few pounds, and that is all right.

Aim for a healthy weight range. This can be a range of about three to five pounds, which you should be able to realistically maintain, where you feel good both mentally and physically, and where you reduce your risk of developing health problems or further complicating existing ones. Determining your healthy weight range depends on several factors, including your body composition (i.e., how much of your body weight is fat), your body fat distribution (i.e., how the fat is distributed on your body), and whether you have weight-related medical problems such as high blood pressure. When you take these things into consideration, you may find that you are already at a healthy weight and need only to maintain it by eating properly and staying active.

If you aren’t certain if you are at a healthy weight, an easy way to decide is to figure out your Body Mass Index (BMI). This is a measure of body weight that is based on weight and height and is highly related to health. To figure out your BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 705 and then divide that by your height in inches squared. For example, if you are 150 lbs and 67 inches tall, then your BMI is 150 lbs. x 705 = 105,750, divided by (67” x 67”) = 4489, which equals (105,750/ 4489) = 23.6. According to the following guidelines, your weight is within a healthy weight range.

If your BMI is: ▼ less than 19—this classifies you as being underweight, although this may not be a problem unless there are other health problems.

▼ 19 to 25—this classifies you at a healthy weight.

▼ 26 to 29—this classifies you as being overweight. However, if you are physically active and have a lot of muscle mass, the excess weight may not be due to body fat and so may not be a problem.

▼ 30 to 39—this classifies you as obese, and very likely you have a large amount of body fat.

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