The Healthiest Weight For A Woman

This is the most common and interesting question that every woman wants an answer to. Everyone wishes to know what is a healthy weight and whether they have a healthy weight or not and it is totally okay because all of us should be concerned about being healthy as Health is Wealth! So, It’s a simple formula, you are healthy if you are having an ideal body weight in the standard range So, what actually is the ideal weight range for a woman? How does she know how much should she weigh to be the healthiest? How to find it? So, let’s discuss it.

What is a Healthy Body Weight?

A healthy weight is one in which a woman is in the normal BMI range and in the ideal weight range according to her age and height and it depends on multiple factors like Age, Height, Body Frame Size, Physical Activity, and Mental Health. There is no same ideal weight for everyone because the ideal weight varies for women as per their height. To achieve a healthy and ideal weight it is important to adopt healthy dietary and lifestyle practices like eating a well-balanced and nutrient-rich diet along with regular light to moderate intensity exercises.

Why Women should have a Healthy Weight?

Health is the greatest asset of life. It is important for women to maintain a healthy weight within the ideal range because it protects against many major health problems like reproductive issues, hormonal imbalances, obesity, heart problems, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and many more. Obesity itself is the mother of all diseases.

Women that fall in the category of overweight and obesity have an increased chance of developing many health problems. Not only does overweight and obese cause problems but being underweight also affects women’s fertility due to hormonal imbalances. So it is essential for women to achieve a healthy weight and live a healthy life.

Everyone is interested in knowing what is their ideal body weight and how to find it. So let’s have look at the various methods to calculate the ideal weight range for a woman.

How to Calculate the Ideal Body Weight of Females?

It is a simple technique to know your ideal body weight. This is the HAMWI method- rule of 5.

For females: 1st 5 feet= 100 lbs with each additional or less inch= 5 lbs

For example:- The calculation of ideal body weight of a female of 5’5” height:

IBW= 100+ 5(5) lbs = 125 lbs/ 56.8 kg.

So, this is one method to calculate the Ideal body weight of a female. There are some other methods that are used for the purpose along with some standard ideal weight charts provided by different organizations for female adults. But before that, let’s have a look at some important aspects that are included in it.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Body Mass Index (BMI) is the screening tool for nutritional status and weight categories. It is derived by a formula: Weight of an individual (kg) / Square of height (m). The WHO has classified BMI into different categories.

The WHO Classification of BMI

For adults over 20 years of age the BMI categories according to WHO classification are as follows:

Nutritional Status	BMI
Underweight	Below 18.5
Normal	18.5-24.9
Overweight	25.0-29.9
Obesity-I	30-34.9
Obesity-II	35-39.9
Obesity-III	Above 40

Ideal Weight Chart for Female Adults

According to the American Cancer Society, the weight chart for female adults with normal BMI:

Height	Weight with Normal BMI 19-24
4’10”	91-115 lbs
4’11”	94-119 lbs
5’0”	97-123 lbs
5’1”	100-127 lbs
5’2”	104-131lbs
5’3”	107-135 lbs
5’4”	110-140 lbs
5’5”	114-144 lbs
5’6”	118-148 lbs
5’7”	121-153 lbs
5’8”	125-158 lbs
5’9”	128-162 lbs
5’10”	132-167 lbs
6’0”	140-177 lbs
6’1”	144-182 lbs
6’2”	148-186 lbs

So this ideal weight chart shows that how much weight a woman with a normal BMI should have according to her height. But we often wonder if BMI is the perfect and accurate way to know whether a person is of healthy weight or not.

Is BMI Alone Reliable?

No, the BMI alone is not perfectly reliable in all cases. Body Mass Index is one aspect to look at a person’s body weight as it measures body fat but it does not work perfectly for everyone. One problem is that sometimes the muscle mass weighs more than the fat mass and using BMI alone might overestimate the body’s total fat calculation. So BMI is a good way to get an overall idea of the ideal weight range for a person but it’s not always the final result.

Despite the fact that BMI alone is not a reliable method, still it is the most used method. But still, are there any other best suitable methods for this purpose or BMI is the only solution? Let’s have a look at it. T

Better Reliable Methods than BMI

There are some other preferable alternatives to assess an individual’s health status. These are:

1: Body Fat Percentage (Calculated by Body Composition Calculator)

2: Waist to Hip ratio (A ratio greater than 0.8 in females shows higher abdominal fat mass whereas smaller than 0.80 means high hip fat mass)

3: Waist Circumference (W.c greater than 35” in females shows increased abdominal fat)

4: Skin Fold Thickness (You can calculate it by a calculator)

5: Relative Fat Mass

Formula for women: RFM = 76 – (20 x height/waist circumference)

6: Body Adiposity Index ( Hip circumference*Height)

BAI = (hip circumference/(height)^1.5) – 18

Conclusion

The healthiest weight for a woman is a weight in the ideal range with a normal body mass index. A normal BMI indicates that a woman has a healthy weight in reference to height. Many factors are involved in determining a woman’s ideal weight like her age, height, and body frame size. It is important for everyone to achieve and maintain a healthy weight by having healthy dietary practices and an active lifestyle because a healthy body is a base for entire well-being. People in the overweight and obese range are more prone to develop many health problems. So having a healthy weight has a great impact on health.