Weight management

You might think that by the time you reach old age, watching your weight wouldn’t be as important as it once was. Nothing could be further from the truth.

With ailments like arthritis, rheumatism and osteoporosis all made worse by excess weight, it’s never been more crucial to eat sensibly.

Being overweight or obese is also associated with increased risk of developing diabetes, coronary heart disease and stroke, so losing weight could drastically improve your health and quality of life.

On the other hand, if you are already slim, losing more weight can be very bad for your health; sudden weight loss is not healthy and may indicate that you are not eating enough or have an undiagnosed illness.

Successful weight management is simply about balancing the amount of calories we take in with the amount we expend in our daily activities.

If you take in more calories than you use up, you gain weight. If you take in fewer than you use up, you lose weight. It’s that straightforward.

Your ideal weight is generally one that gives you a BMI (Body Mass Index) of between 20 and 25. Research has shown that people within this range tend to live longer and enjoy better health at every stage of life

You can check your own Body Mass Index using our interactive BMI calculator

It’s also worth checking your waist measurements. The distribution of weight, as much as your overall weight itself, is an important factor in determining the associated health risks.

This is because people who tend to gain weight around the middle have an increased risk of developing heart disease and non-insulin diabetes. (Doctors call this abdominal obesity, although it’s more commonly known as a ‘beer belly’.)

Generally speaking, your weight is likely to be in the healthy range if your waist measures less than 94cm or 37 inches if you’re a man, 80cm or 31 inches if you’re a woman.

Finally, remember most of us put on weight over time because of our lifestyles. So the most efficient way to lose it is long-term lifestyle change to include healthy eating and more exercise.