It is rare that we hear people ask "what is the healthy weight for your age?" To the majority, as long as they are not overweight, obese or too thin, then they feel they are healthy. This is another common health misconception that people have. Just because they are not fat or overweight or even malnourished, doesn’t mean that they are necessarily healthy and that their current weight is the healthy weight for their age.

There are certain factors that make up the healthy weight of a person. How the physical aspect may look like does not in any way automatically mean that the person is healthy. Achieving or maintaining a healthy weight gets even harder as we get older because our metabolism slows down thereby affecting the calories that we burn, activities are lessened and there is a decline in some hormone levels. All these may affect changes in your weight, however this should not be made as an excuse not to do something about correcting it.

In order to be able to correctly answer the question as to what should be the healthy weight for your age is, you should assess first the following factors that will affect the results of their weight. You should also realize that regardless how old you are, it is important to determine where you lie in the healthy weight range. This range has been set in order to be able to reduce the risk of any health problems that you may get in the future.

In order to fully understand the workings on calculating the healthy weight for your age, perhaps it would be best to provide a little background on how the ideal weight for each gender has been set. Back in the early 1940’s to the 1950’s, research studies had been made on the relationship between age, gender and weight in relation to high risk health problems. Since then, the studies have been further improved and ideal weight tables for both men and women have been set. In the ideal weight table, men and women will be able to gauge for themselves if their weight is on the healthy range or if they are susceptible to health risks. The ideal weight table however does not automatically preclude that one is already at a risk of health problems should he or she be not in the normal range.

You also have to consider your body frame when calculating your weight. To do this, one very good indicator is the Body Mass Index or the BMI. The body mass index measures the body fat in adults and is easily calculated through the use of the height and weight of the person. This is the main indicator you use in order to determine if you are within the range of your healthy weight or not.

Getting the healthy weight for your age is something that can easily be done by anyone as long as they keep to a strict regimen of proper diet of healthy foods and exercise. Take your new plan one week at a time, rather than as a whole year plan. This will help you to stick to your goals much easier.