What is it?
You can work out whether you are a healthy weight or putting your health at risk by calculating your body mass index (BMI). You can use our BMI calculator to check yours, or perform the calculation by hand:
Take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height in metres and then divide the result by your height in metres again.
- Healthy weight BMI = 18.5 to 24.9
- Overweight BMI = 25 to 29.9
- Obese BMI = 30 to 39.9
- Severely obese BMI = 40-plus
What happens?
Being overweight puts your health at risk since it contributes to the development of many problems that include:
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- arthritis
- diabetes
- indigestion
- gallstones
- some cancers (for example, breast, prostate)
- snoring and sleep apnoea
- stress, anxiety and depression
Why does it happen?
It's an equation of balance - if you eat more calories than you use in daily activity the spare energy is stored as fat and weight increases. It's as simple as that.
Nowadays the average diet contains too many calories in the form of sugar and fat and as a nation we have become more inactive. For example, many men spend their time sitting and watching sport when in the past they would have been actively taking part in sport.
Jobs have become more sedentary too with men now sitting in front of a computer whereas in the past jobs would have been more physically demanding.
Can I stop it?
If you're not overweight and eat roughly the same number of calories each day as you burn up each day then you shouldn't become overweight.
If you're already overweight the first thing to acknowledge is that there's no quick-fix. To lose some weight more calories have to be burned off than are taken in. For most men the solution is to:
- always eat breakfast
- eat meals that contain more starchy foods (such as pasta, rice, bread, potatoes) and less sugar and fat
- drink less alcohol
- snack on fruit rather than chocolate or crisps, for example
- reduce daily calorie intake by about 500 calories
- exercise for 20 to 30 minutes on at least five days in the week (such as brisk walking, swimming, cycling, running)
A realistic goal is to lose 1lb to 2lbs each week.
Should I see a doctor?
If despite these measures the weight isn't falling off, then some advice from the doctor, practice nurse or dietician may help.
Treatments
For some men as part of a weight reduction programme the doctor is able to prescribe medication to help achieve weight loss.
Many doctors are also able to refer men to an 'exercise on prescription' scheme at their local leisure centre where a course of exercise can be provided to help them lose weight.
This article was last medically reviewed by Dr Rob Hicks in May 2005.
First published in October 1997.
Obesity News:
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Spontaneous physical activity protects against fat mass gain -
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Bidirectional association between depression and obesity in middle-aged and older women -
Adipocyte lipases and lipid droplet-associated proteins: insight from transgenic mouse models -
All content within MensHealthOnly.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. MensHealthOnly.com is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of MensHealthOnly.com website.
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