Fat And Fit?

ASK THE DIETITIAN
Rebecca Mohning MS, RD
For For Diet To Go

Can We Be Fit at Any Size?

Healthy people can come in all shapes and sizes: short or tall, stocky or thin, muscular or � not. For this reason, there is no such thing as a "perfect body," or an ideal body weight, shape or size that everyone should strive for. The most important thing is being healthy, so you can enjoy life with the body you have.

Regardless of your size and shape, you can live a healthful lifestyle and reduce your risk of health problems: *Assess your health habits. *Eat healthfully. *Get plenty of physical activity. *Get regular physical checkups. *Monitor your "numbers" of blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar.

If you want to know if your weight is healthy, use these factors to decide if you need to lose weight:

1) Your percentage of body fat, which is made up of essential fat needed for proper body functioning and stored fat for later use. Your percentage of body fat depends on genetics, lifestyle, and physical activities. In general, women have more body fat than men. There are several ways to get this measured from underwater weight, skinfold calipers, or bioelectrical impedance (tanita scales).

2) 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 BMI range. BMI measurements may be misleading if you are muscular or if you have lost a lot of muscle mass. A healthy BMI is considered to be from 18.5 to 25.

3) Your weight circumference. Where you store fat in your body can be a risk factor for good health. People who are "apple-shaped" and store fat around their abdomen 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.

• To measure your waist circumference, place a tape measure around your body at the level of the uppermost part of your hipbone. This is usually at the level of your navel. You are at increased risk for health problems if you are a man with a waist measurement greater than 40 in. (101.6 cm) or a woman with a waist measurement greater than 35 in. (88.9 cm).

Your healthy weight is one that does not put you at risk for weight-related diseases-such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Your healthy weight is a weight at which you feel good about yourself and have energy for work and play