Healthy weight

Prevalence of overweight

According to The World Health Organization (WHO) the worldwide prevalence of obesity nearly tripled between 1975 and 2016.

In 2016, 39% (1.9 billion) of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight. Of these, about 13% (over 650 million) adults were obese.

Did you know that 30% of adults in te world are overweight?

What should I weigh?

Having excess weight can affect a person’s risk of developing numerous health conditions, including;
• High blood pressure
• Heart attacks
• Strokes
• Fatty liver
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancer
• Osteoarthritis
• Depression

Faced with these risks, one would like to know the exact ideal weight for oneself. But this common question is actually the wrong question. For health, the issue is not only about how much you weigh, but how much abdominal fat you have. The more abdominal fat, the higher the risk of suffering from the above mentioned health conditions.

Measurements for healthy weight

It’s both unhealthy to be overweight and underweight, although it’s more common talking about excess weight. There are several ways of measuring a healthy weight.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI is a measure for indicating nutritional status in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2).

BMI	NUTRITIONAL STATUS
<18,5	Underweight
18,5 - 24,9	Normal weight
25,0 - 29,0	Overweight
30,0 - 34,9	Obesity class I
35,0 - 39,9	Obesity class II
Above 40	Obesity class III

Example: 70 (kg)/1.752 (m2) = 22.9 BMI (Normal weight)

BMI is very easy to measure and calculate and is therefore the most commonly used tool to correlate risk of health problems with the weight at population level. At individual level it’s also an indicator of nutritional status but if you, for instance, have a big muscle mass your BMI could indicate that you’re overweight. BMI is only a measurement for the body mass, not the body composition. That’s why, on an individual level, you should measure the waist circumference in addition to the BMI.

Waist circumference

 Waist circumference (WC) is an accurate and simple measure of abdominal obesity. You measure around the body at the level of the abdomen and just above the hip bone. The measurement is usually taken immediately after exhalation. The WC is an indicator of health risk associated with excess fat around the waist. A waist circumference of 102 cm (40 in) or more in men, or 88 cm (35 in) or more in women, is associated with health conditions, as mentioned before.

M=men, W=women

 If you have a “Normal weight” according to BMI and a “Low risk” according to WC you can be considered to have a healthy weight.

Routines to obtain a healthy weight

To ensure a healthy lifestyle, WHO recommends eating lots of fruits and vegetables, reducing fat, sugar and salt intake and to exercise.
In order to live a healthy life it’s good to have a holistic approach to health where you take both mind, body and spirit into consideration. The concept of holistic health encourages people to accept responsibility for their own level of wellbeing, and everyday choices that effect their health.

12 steps to a healthier lifestyle:

1. Maintain a healthy body weight at the recommended levels for BMI and WC.
2. Excercise on a daily basis for at least 30 minutes and take the opportunity to always stay active by taking the stairs, walk or ride your bike to work/grocery store etc
3. Sleep 7-8 hours per night. A rested mind and body will have more energy and also keep stress hormone at a good level.
4. Drink 1-1,5 liters of water per day, in addition to water from food
5. Eat a variety of fruit and vegetables, several times per day (at least 400 g per day)
6. Eat protein from healthy sources. Replace fatty meat and meat products with beans, legumes, lentils, fish, poultry or lean meat.
7. Eat fiber and whole grains from food like bread, pasta, rice or potatoes several times per day
8. Control fat intake (not more than 30% of daily energy) and replace most saturated fats with unsaturated fats such as fats from oils, nuts/seeds, avocado, fatty fish.
9. Use milk and dairy products (kefir, sour milk, yoghurt and cheese) that are low in both fat and salt.
10. Select foods that are low in sugar, limiting the frequency of sugary drinks and sweets.
11. Choose a low-salt diet. Total salt intake should not be more than one teaspoon (5 g) per day including the salt in already prepared food.
12. Limit your alcohol consumption. Evidence shows that the ideal solution for health is not to drink at all, so therefore less is better.

So in order to obtain a healthy weight and lifestyle it’s not about just cutting out on calories, it’s about providing your body with good, nutritious food and ensure your body is active during the day and let it rest during the night.

Products that will help you keep your healthy weightA good way to ensure protein and fiber intake during the day is to use our shakes Natural Balance Shake (NBS) and Protein Blend (PB) as a healthy snack 1-2 times per day. It supplies high quality nutrition with few calories and a low amount of sugar and salt.

It takes only seconds to make this tasty and satisfying beverage!

 

Amount per serving (18 g of powder):

 

PROTEIN BLEND

NATURAL BALANCE SHAKES

ENERGY 70 kcal PROTEIN 7,7 g FAT 1,7 g - OF WHICH SATURATED 0,5 g CARBOHYDRATES 5,2 g - OF WHICH SUGARS 3,7 g FIBRES 1,6 g SALT 0,3 g

VANILLA ENERGY 71 kcal PROTEIN 7,1 g FAT 1,5 g - OF WHICH SATURATED 0,4 g CARBOHYDRATES 6,3 g - OF WHICH SUGARS 3,6 g FIBRES 1,6 g SALT 0,26 g

STRAWBERRY ENERGY 71 kcal PROTEIN 7,1 g FAT 1,5 g - OF WHICH SATURATED 0,4 g CARBOHYDRATES 6,4 g - OF WHICH SUGARS 3,8 g FIBRES 1,6 g SALT 0,25 g

CHOCOLATE ENERGY 70 kcal PROTEIN 6,7g FAT 1,7 g - OF WHICH SATURATED 0,4 g CARBOHYDRATES 6,1 g - OF WHICH SUGARS 3,5 g FIBRES 1,8 g SALT 0,23 g

How to feel healthy

If you’ve been unhealthy for a long period of time you tend to forget what “healthy” feels like. You know those days when you wake up and feel like you can do anything? That is what living healthy feels like. Your body should not be your limitation.