BMI or Body Mass Index - Essay Example

? Assess Your Own Body Weight and Develop a Diet and Exercise Program of the Human anatomy of the June 5, Assess Your Own Body Weight and Develop a Diet and Exercise Program BMI BMI or Body Mass Index is an anthropometric index for the measurement of body mass applied to adults. It is calculated by dividing body weight in Kilograms by a squared product of height of the individual in meters. Kg/m2 is the universally applied unit to express BMI (WHO, 2000). BMI = body weight (Kgs) / {height (mts)} 2 Classification of weight according to BMI (WHO, 2000) BMI < 18.5 = underweight BMI 18.5-24.9 = normal weight BMI 25-29.9 = overweight BMI 30-39.9 = obesity BMI 40 or greater = morbid obesity Individuals whose BMI is greater than 25 are at an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and stroke. Individuals with BMI less than 18.5 are also unhealthy and are considered undernourished. Thus, for average adult males and females, it is considered appropriate to maintain BMI between18.5 to 24.9(WHO, 2000). Calculation of BMI As my weight is 86 Kg (190 lbs) and height is 1.8 m (6 ft): BMI = 86/1.8 x 1.8 = 86/ 3.24 = 26.54 Kg/m2 According to the above classification, BMI of 26.54 falls in to the category of overweight. An increased BMI is associated with various health related risks and these can be reduced with normalization of BMI. However, in a person of with a muscular build, BMI can be high due to the increased muscle mass and it doesn’t necessarily reflect high fat content in the body. Keeping in mind this limitation of BMI, it is appropriate to formulate a diet and exercise plan for a 25 year old male with BMI of 26.54 Kg/m2 Current diet Although, I am overweight, I eat a healthy diet and try to avoid junk food as much as possible. My meal plan for a ‘routine’ day is as follows: Breakfast Protein shake after my exercise -------------------------------------------------- 120 kcal Skimmed milk 1 cup (nearly 300 ml) ------------------------------------------- 90 kcal 2 boiled eggs------------------------------------------------------------------------- 150 kcal At work snack 2 x Coffee with 1 tsp sugar-------------------------------------------------------- 75 kcal Lunch Chicken salad or a similar sandwich -----------------------------------------------------------450 kcal Fruit flavored low fat yoghurt ---------------------------------------------------250 kcal Evening snack Fruits or handful of roasted nuts or granola bar or digestive cookies ----100 to 150 kcal Skimmed milk or coffee 1 cup----------------------------------------------------------------90 kcal Dinner Fried Rice with vegetables and tofu or spaghetti with meat balls or chicken stir fry with rice and vegetables---------------------------------------------------------------------- 800 to 1000 kcal Occasionally a diet coke or a can of beer or a serving of dessert (fresh fruits vanilla ice cream or rice pudding) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 200 to 250 kcal On counting the calories, these amount to 2300 to 2400 kcal on an average day. Most of the days, I try to stick to theses kind of meals. If I do eat something calorie rich, I try to compensate at other meals. Diet plan The upper limit of ideal healthy weight range for my height is 81 kg. This weight will also put my BMI in a healthy and normal range. Thus, in formulating a new diet plan, my goals are to reduce 5 Kgs weight and make my diet healthier. In order to lose approximately one pound a week, I would need to reduce 400 to 500 Kcal from my daily diet. A diet of 1800 Kcal is easy to adhere to and is not likely to slow down my metabolism. I feel that my breakfast is healthy enough with milk and eggs. Also, I avoid snacks which are sweet or fried. I consume 2 to 3 cups of coffee with skimmed milk and 1 teaspoon sugar. I will switch to coffee without sugar or use a sugar substitute. That will decrease the calories consumed by 75. Moreover, as I usually eat take away dinners, my dinner meal has high calories and possibly, high sodium as well. I am going to try to switch to home cooked dinner and replace my dinner with meals having dishes like soup and salads without dressing. Boiled brown rice instead of fried rice and boiled whole wheat pasta with vegetables cooked in very less oil instead of traditional spaghetti are the healthier choices I will adopt. Weekly exercise plan At present I go for jogging early morning for about 30 minutes 4 times a week. I do stretching exercises for 5 to 7 minutes before starting running and at the end. As per my new exercise plan, I intend to increase the frequency of my cardio exercise that is jogging, to 5 times a week and increase the duration to 40 to 45 minutes. Anyhow, I lead an active lifestyle and am involved in one or the other sports or physical activities with my friends most of the weekends. Thus, my lifestyle has enough aerobic activity that is required to stay healthy and fit. One current concept is to keep challenging the body with by varying the type of activities such as jogging, cycling, swimming etc. But, I really enjoy jogging, it doesn’t need any equipment and I can do it anywhere and at any time of the day. So, jogging is the main aerobic exercise in my plan. So far as strength training exercises are concerned, I train daily with weights. I have found out that it is necessary to give rest to muscle tissues to recover after strength training exercises. Consequently, I plan to do them on alternate days and I will target key areas such as abs, arms and legs by rotation. Day 1- shoulders and abs Day 2 - chest and arms Day 3- rest Day 4- legs and abs Day 5- chest and arms Day 6 –rest Day 7 – legs and back Exercises will start with a stretching routine and I will start with the weights I am currently lifting and gradually increase the repetitions and weights one at a time. Currently, my workout lasts for an hour each day and consists of bench press and dumbbell press for the chest 3 sets with 12 reps each. For arms, I target biceps with barbell and dumbbell curls, and triceps with extension and bench press. I exercise my abs with crunches, knee raises and sit ups and exercise hamstrings, gluteals and calf muscles. Thus, through my diet plan, I intend to cutback my calories and through my exercise plan, I intend to gain muscle and lose fat with a combination of cardio and muscle building exercises. These are my steps towards a healthier life. References World Health Organization (WHO). (2000). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic: report of a WHO consultation, WHO technical report series 894. Retrieved from http://whqlibdoc.who.int/trs/WHO_TRS_894.pdf Read More