Lots of visitors to my website have commented on my article relating to the question: Am I Overweight? For this article I did some research relating to the current trends and opinions on measuring healthy weight using the healthy weight chart.

When using the healthy weight chart as a means to determine if we are overweight we need to remember that this is a very broad and simplistic method.

The healthy weight chart sometimes referred to as the height weight chart can be very confusing to some people.

Let me explain. These two tools are used as a basis for the calculation of the well known BMI measurement system for measuring Body Mass Index.

If you are not familiar with these charts you may well have seen one pinned to your doctor's wall in his surgery, but this method of calculating healthy body mass is not without its critics.

There is a particular problem with the modern diet that means that many of us now carry excessive and disproportionate amounts of fat around our waistline.

All the information from the height weight chart is for information purposes only and should be used together with other relevant factors to decide if you are within a healthy weight range.

The healthy weight range system is a collection of data from many thousands of people worldwide and is designed using an average of many different people's data.

For most people the height weight chart gives quite an accurate indication of where you are within the band of the healthy weight range.

So is the height weight chart a reliable indicator of healthy weight?

Caution, there are cases where the results have been incorrect for example:

We identified a subject (over 6 foot in height) who has now been assessed as being at risk of fatty liver disease, even though his healthy weight range score indicated otherwise. This is an example of the problems with this simple system.

If you are tall but carry excessive weight around your abdominal region you should seek medical advice as you may be at increased risk of disease.

If you are quite a tall person and you have a large tummy, it is advisable you choose a healthy lifestyle in terms of dietary intake and exercise in order to significantly reduce abdominal fat.

Conclusion: Many practitioners are now moving towards the use of body fat percentage as a safer and more reliable method of calculating health risks relating to being overweight.