Healthy Height to Weight Ratios
We can probably all agree that maintaining a healthy weight is important to our health, as well as to our self-image. With all the talk about many Americans being overweight, or even obese, many of us have questions about how to determine a healthy weight for our own bodies.
There are many charts, graphs and general rules of thumb to go by. Unfortunately, not all of the data is in agreement. Since weight can be such a personal thing, and since many people, especially women, can have serious misperceptions about their weight and physical appearance, it is important to have reasonable expectations.
One article that I read recently indicated that a woman's weight at five feet tall should be 100 pounds, and that we could add five pounds per inch over five feet. I took immediate exception to the article. First of all, at only four feet eleven inches, I have no idea what weight they think I should be at. Second, clearly, according to this method, I should weigh below one hundred pounds! I know from my own past struggles with weight loss and gain, that even at 110 I was too thin, both by my own standards and by the observations of others around me.
I was encouraged to find some additional information on the internet, which seems to be a bit more realistic. For example, using my own height for illustration, one chart says that at four feet eleven inches my target weight is 117 (pretty close to reality). They show 101 as being low (thank you!) and 134 as being high. Another site, www.cigna.co.uk offers an online ratio calculator, which is pretty cool. The calculator gives you a number, and if your number is in a range from 19 to 25, it says you are at a healthy weight. I ran mine and got 23.9. I like this calculator, because it seems to be taking into account people's varying body types, and even states that if you are small boned you will probably be at the lower end of the range.
As you can see, the height to weight ratio calculation is not entirely objective. You should always talk to your doctor, at least once a year, about your weight, activity level, and diet. Talk with him or her about the various statistics. Because your doctor knows you, he or she can more safely advise you as to the best weight for your body.