Ideal Weight

What's your ideal weight? You may be pleasantly surprised!

In America, so many people obsess over their weight. True, obesity is on the rise, but food addictions work both ways. People with food addictions may eat too much or far too little. Perhaps the weight issue has been pushed way too far. Kids in grade school are developing anorexic, bulimic and overeating tendencies and this type of obsession is not healthy, not for kids or adults. So how do you arrive at an ideal weight figure that matches reality?

One dictionary definition of ideal reads as follows: “...a conception of something in its most excellent form...” If we are to arrive at a definition of ideal weight, it only follows that we need to address whose conception this is and what defines a most excellent form. There's the rub. Some group of supposedly qualified people have come up with a formula that proscribes both the conception and what is most excellent.

Take for example, the 'blood type' diets. There are medical doctors who insist that you should eat only foods which are compatible with your blood type. The purported science involves something about how your blood type determines your body chemistry's reaction to food. Not being a medical doctor, I can't prove or disprove this theory, but it sounds like there's a lot of hooey here. Yet, this theory has quite a large following of people desiring to lose weight and cure a variety of diseases. The point is, even if a select group of experts says something is true, it doesn't make it so.

When the body fat index charts came out some years ago, people started consulting their doctors and the many websites which compared your height and weight in a one-size-fits-all modality. Height and weight were the only criterion. Therefore, a person who's 5'6” and weighs 135 pounds might be classified as overweight. Perhaps this individual has a large bone structure, or is an athlete.

Muscle weighs more than fat. I remember hearing that a certain very fit NBA basketball star would be considered obese under this particular formula. The person in question was quite obviously a tall, muscular and lean guy. This case makes me suspicious of the entire premise.

When you consider that every individual is different, it's difficult to make a case for such a simplistic model of an ideal weight. Instead of imposing paranoia on the general population, the medical community should give their individual patients guidance on nutrition, the importance of exercise and a personal evaluation on that patient's ballpark ideal weight.

If you want to make this evaluation yourself, study up on nutrition, exercise regularly and take an objective look in the mirror. While your best friend may be just your height but weighs ten or fifteen pounds less, your ideal weight may be right in hand. If you feel good, are energetic and eat right, you may just be at your ideal weight.