Santé is a co-subsponsor of Team Continu:the skating team led by Marianne Timmer. Today Marianne Timmer answers the question 'When are you overweight?'
Marianne: 'The determining factor in determining whether you are overweight is the amount of body fat. You can determine whether you are overweight in various ways.
The Quetelet Index (also called Body Mass Index) provides an indication of whether someone has the correct weight. Take the weight in kilograms, divide it by the height (in meters) squared and the result should be between 20 and 25. Between 25 and 30 is not good, above 30 it is usually called seriously overweight or obese. However, this is not decisive! Take a bodybuilder, for example:due to the weight of the muscle mass, a bodybuilder has a BMI of over 30, but is therefore not yet overweight.
At gyms and at slimming institutes, the fat content can be measured with a special fat meter. Nowadays there are also scales that can measure the fat content. It is important that the fat content is measured at the same time (ie under the same conditions) each time. A fat measurement by means of a special scale is not reliable if it is performed after drinking alcohol and coffee. A fat percentage of 15 to 25% of body weight is good.
Measuring the waist circumference also gives you a good indication of whether you are overweight or not. You measure the waist circumference at the height of the lower ribs, so not necessarily over your navel! In men, the waist circumference should be less than 94 cm. In women, the waist circumference must be less than 80 cm.'
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