Recap on Body Mass Index, BMI
Let us recap how BMI can be used as one of the tools for you to have a healthy lifestyle.
What does an ideal BMI tell you? We understand that BMI is a measure of wellness in a person. If you are in the ideal range of 18.5 to 24.9, you are good. Less than 18.5, mean that you are underweight. Underweight does not necessarily mean that you are safe. It is generally all right if you are fit, but if you fall sick; you may need the excess fat reserves to help you pull through the loss of appetite and reduced food intake stage. Therefore, it is psychologically uplifting to be in the ideal range.
Effects of Obesity
A BMI of between 25 and 29.9 is overweight and anything above 30 means obese. Obesity may be hereditary due to common eating habits or due to a sedentary lifestyle.
Obesity would tip the medical bills and lead to layoff and reduced productivity. Prolonged obesity would lead to higher blood pressures, higher blood sugar levels and increase in blood cholesterol. All these factors would eventually lead to hypertension, diabetes and early signs heart and kidney damage.
For people with big physical frames, the measure of BMI may not be a right measure of obesity. BMI cannot measure lean mass ( bones and lean muscle), in comparison to body fat. Since body fat loves to encircle the waistline, doctors often use waist measurement as an additional indicator of obesity.
Strategies to reduce BMI
You must remember that besides BMI, other indicators of good health include resting heart rate, percentage fat and its location in the human body, the concentration of oxygen in the blood, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
The good thing is that if your BMI is ideal, the fitness level is also optimized. Cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar level readings will automatically be reduced once your BMI is reduced if you are in the overweight category.
Here are some things one can do to reduce high BMI readings:
i. Adopt healthy lifestyle habits and behaviors and stick to them forever.
ii. Change daily routine to include exercise. It is recommended that to mitigate unhealthy risks, one has to complete 150 to 200 minutes of moderate physical activity per week which includes two days of strength training. It takes 45 minutes per day to erase the effects of the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and 30 minutes per day to mitigate the effects. Moderate activity include brisk walking and swimming, while vigorous activity include running and circuit training of different exercises.
iii. Sleep is an important component of good health. So, it is good practice to adhere to a regular sleeping routine and rhythm. Sleeping under reduced light encourages the release of the hormone. melatonin which induces restful sleep. Keeping electronic gadgets away while you sleep is also a good habit. You should set your room to be at a comfortable temperature and perhaps have an essential oil diffuser to provide good aromatherapy while you sleep.
iv. Diet is the last important factor in a healthy lifestyle. There are a lot of different diets you can adapt to reduce your weight. Basically you should focus on a healthy diet of whole grains, fruits and vegetables as sources of carbohydrate, reduce the intake of sugar and salt and include unsaturated fats in your diet. A balance diet should include also food components (carbs, fat, vitamins, minerals and protein) but portions should be reduced.
Unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Poor lifestyle habits are key contributors to the development and progression of lifestyle disease such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Among the bad and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors include the following:
i. Spending a lot of time on sedentary activity which does not expend much energy. This include time spent on the internet (email, social media, video games), print media (newspapers and magazines) and broadcast media (Netflix, radio and television). One must set a schedule to include frequent movement in the daily routine. Walk instead of drive, climb stairs instead of taking the lifts.
ii. Eating junk food and drinking too much alcohol.
iii. Overeating as well as irregular meals are not good habits.
iv. Smoking and drug abuse.
v. Lack of exercise
vi. Stressful living and working conditions.
Conclusion
It is clear from the above arguments that an ideal BMI is not impossible if you have a healthy lifestyle.
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