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Given that overweight is an increasingly discussed topic nowadays, it is good for each of us to know what our ideal weight should be. Just because you see a woman of similar height somewhere on the internet or on television does not mean you have to weigh and look exactly the same as her. Body weight is derived from several factors; it depends not only on your age, body shape and height, but also on your body composition. That means the percentage of fat, muscle and bone that makes up our body. There are several methods to find this out.
Methods of measuring body weight
Among the most common ways to find out what your ideal body weight is are:
- BMI index
- Broca index
- InBody device
Broca and BMI index
The Broca index was used more in earlier times and was calculated by dividing body weight in kilograms by height in meters and multiplying the result by 100. This gave a value expressed in %, where all results ranging from 90 to 110% were considered ideal and, conversely, lower values as underweight and higher values as overweight.
Since it was found over time to be very inaccurate, the BMI calculation began to be used instead, which is an abbreviation of the English words „Body Mass Index“ (Body Mass Index). Unfortunately, this formula is also only indicative, as it does not take into account our body’s build, i.e. the ratio of fat, muscle and bone. The calculation is, however, very simple: our body weight in kilograms is divided by body height in meters squared. You will get a result which you compare with the reference table to find out whether you are underweight, normal weight, slightly overweight, obese class I, class II or severely obese. As we mentioned above, it is really only for orientation.
If you want the most accurate measurement of all, we recommend using the InBody measurement, which is a device that not only measures your ideal weight, but also, unlike other methods, calculates the proportion of muscle mass, body fat, visceral fat, the amount of water in the body, muscle distribution and the basal metabolic rate, which is important for losing or gaining body weight. You can find this device in some fitness centers or in healthcare facilities.
What is always most important, however, is how you feel and whether you love yourself. As they say „Weight is just a number“, so keep that in mind!
