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Am I Overweight?

You're asking yourself, “Am I Overweight?” The answer isn’t as simple as it seems at first. Beefy-looking people aren't necessarily overweight. That's because being overweight has more to do with flab than muscle. Obese overweight people have more fat than is necessary or healthy.

Being overweight may have little to do with looks and perhaps more on how someone feels. Seeing thin models on television makes one feel as being overweight. Sometimes what looks like overweight people might just be a case of being bloated.

There' very little doubt that fast foods and quick lifestyles are producing an obesity epidemic among overweight Americans. Excess weight can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure and other health problems. So the question does come up “Am I overweight?”

The thing is, the term 'overweight' has come into question. The Center for Disease Control in April 2009 announced that 10 to 15 extra pounds could help a person live longer. But then one month later they retracted their findings. Sometimes we are told the opposite, that a few extra pounds creates other risk factors like a reduced life expectancy and immune deficiency illnesses.

Fat Overweight Tissues

Women should have a body fat ratio of 10% to 12%. This percentage in women can go up to 31% and still be acceptable, but anything beyond that is obese. As a general rule, athletes carry a ratio of 14% to 20% and a general population with good healthy weight have 21% to 24%.

The acceptable percentage of body fat in men is lower than in women. The ideal is a range of 2% to 4%, but high-performing athletes often have a body fat range between 6% and 13%. Trim individuals have a body fat range of 14% to 17%, but up to 25% is considered acceptable. Anything beyond that is deemed obese.

Gyms have various processes for determining the amount of fat tissue in a person's body.

The Ruler Test for Overweight People

Overweight people may also try the ruler test. This requires a ruler or straight-edge. First, with your clothes off, lie flat on your back. Then put the tip of the ruler on top of your ribcage and the other on your pelvis.

If no flesh touches the ruler between the ribcage and pelvis then you’re not overweight. If not, you’re probably overweight. Some type of physical activity and a change to healthy eating habits can bring down the lose fat.

Being Overweight and Dealing With It

There are a lot of dangers associated with being overweight. In addition to reducing lifespan, being overweight or obese can lead to a heart attack, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

If you feel you're overweight, then it all starts with physical activity. Exercise gets the blood pumping and burns fat. Aerobic exercise in particular leads the way in terms of weight loss. Whatever exercise goals you set should be specific and attainable.

For some people that means wording their goal around how much weight they’ll lose in a specific amount of time. Others may opt to word it around their schedule. That means that for example they’ll set as their goal to exercise at least fifteen minutes a day.

Overweight people should not despair if it seems impossible at the start. Many people around the globe purposely lose weight daily. It just takes some time, some heart and some application.

The previous article is on Protein Weight Loss.

Other wiki resources:  weight loss diets; protein and weight loss; being overweight; water retention