The Impotance of Maintaining an Ideal Body Weight
Dr. Swarup Shrestha, General Physician at Star Hospital in Sanepa, Lalitpur, explains here the importance of maintaining an ideal body weight, the causes of being overweight or underweight, and lastly the steps we can take to obtain an ideal body weight.
BEING OVERWEIGHT OR underweight are both hazardous to our health in different ways. As such we should try to maintain our body weight according to the recommended ideal Body Mass Index. This article is based on the information given to us by Dr. Swarup Shrestha.
Why is maintaining a correct body weight important for your health?
It is important to maintain a correct body weight because being underweight or overweight can affect your health severely by causing various health problems. Not only does it increase the risk of diabetes but it also increases the risk of having severe heart diseases, high blood pressure, and different types of cancers. People should be aware of the different reasons on why maintaining an ideal body weight is important.
How do you identify your body weight category?
In order to identify the body weight category we need to first calculate the Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height of the person in meters. In formulaic terms, BMI = Weight in kilograms/(Height in Meters)².
According to WHO, any body mass index over 25 kg/m² is considered overweight but for South Asian countries the weight categories the different body mass indexes are slightly different and are as follows:
| Body Mass Index (kg/m²) | Body Weight Category |
| 18.5-22.5 | Normal (healthy weight) |
| <18.5 | Underweight |
| 22.5-30 | Overweight |
| 30-35 | Mild obesity |
| 35-40 | Moderate obesity |
| >40 | Severe obesity |
Any body mass index greater than or equal to 22.5 kg/m² is considered overweight for the South Asian population.
What causes people to be underweight?
The individuals who are underweight are mostly these who lack appropriate nutrients in their daily diet. The nutrients they are unable to get in their diet are mostly protein, iron, carbohydrates, and fats. Diseases such as Diabetes, Cancer, and HIV/AIDs that cannot be fully cured even after taking appropriate medicines promote decrease in body weight. Diseases like tuberculosis, which take a long time to cure even with the appropriate medicines are also primary causes for people being underweight. Tuberculosis in particular causes patients to lose appetites, thus causing severe weight loss.
What are the causes of being overweight?
The primary cause of people getting overweight in Nepal and also in many countries around the world is the fact that they frequently consume fast food instead of healthy food, and at the same time they don’t exercise much thus allowing the fat to accumulate in the body. Junk food contains large amounts of calories from sugar and fat with little fibre, proteins, vitamins or minerals. As such, an individual who rapidly consumes junk food will likely have an unhealthy body. Even individuals who only have slightly protruding bellies should take care of their body weight to prevent health problems.
What are the risks and health hazards of being overweight?
These individuals have a weakened immune system because body fat inhibits the ability of the white blood cells to multiply, produce antibodies and prevent inflammation. The cholesterol levels of these individuals are also relatively high.The elevated cholesterol levels can cause heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease. They have a high number of fatty tissues that increases their vascular resistance, which in turn increases the work the heart has to do to pump blood throughout the body. Sleep apnea is also very common in overweight individuals. Overweight individuals also have a higher chance of having diabetes as overeating can stress Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER), which is the membranous network inside of cells. In such cases ER has more nutrients to process than it can handle and it sends out signals telling the cell to dampen down the insulin receptors on the cell surface, thus causing a high concentration of glucose in the blood. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is also extremely common, which is also due to insulin resistance caused by obesity.
What are the risks of being underweight?
Anaemia is a condition that develops commonly in people who are underweight. It is a condition in which there is a deficiency in the number of red blood cells or haemoglobin in the blood, thus causing fatigue. Also, the immune function of underweight individuals is also reduced greatly, making the body vulnerable to infections. Osteoporosis, which is a bone disease that occurs when the body loses too much bone or makes too little bone, causes weakness and result in bones break even after minor bumps. Individuals who are underweight feel fatigued frequently. People who do not get enough nutrients in their daily diet might display physical symptoms such as thinning skin, hair loss, dry skin or poor dental health. And, women who are underweight may have irregular periods.
