Chapter 2: Weight and relation with Metabolism
The Introduction
This article is part of an article series: "About your body weight"
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“The Introduction”
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The Introduction
2.1 What is weight, actually?
Weight = mass of object * gravitational acceleration or W = mg, in physics, as you may already know.
Your weight is the measure of the intensity of force imposed on you by the local gravitational field.
When you are up on the measuring scale, the gravitational force of earth that which pulls you down (it is due to gravity that you don't fly here and there like superman), shows a certain reading on that weighing machine and a needle points to a number on that scale which is your weight.
Bones, muscles, fats (good or bad?), blood, skin and hair, food and water (that has just reached the stomach or is ready to leave your body); all these elements combine in a frame that you refer as a body. And your weight is sum of these elements.
So, if you are thinking of weight loss or gain, you have to think on all these elements along with your emotional and mental aspects.
Many people misses here. Due to lack of proper guidance and support; lots of accidents, injuries or other life-threating issues have been created. Even so called nutritionists, renowned diet planners also have missed out on these (not all but there are many).
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If you seriously want to get a healthy body; then you got to be more conscious of your actions.
As mentioned, all these strategies, tips and knowledge listed here have been verified by scientists and experts and backed by researches and tests. So, there is no doubt that this doesn't work for you.
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2.2 How weight is gained in our body?
When there is increase in mass of muscle, fats deposits and fluids in body; the weight is gained. So, when the increment reading exceeds the optimum level, usually calculated in BMI scale, the body is labeled as over-weight or obese and when the reading is lower, it is labeled as under-weight.
BMI (Body Mass Index): A short intro
BMI is a common formula used to assess the index of body w.r.t. your weight and height. The weight excess or deficiency may, in part, be accounted for by body fat although other factors such as muscularity also affect BMI significantly.
Calculating Formula of BMI:
BMI = Your weight (kg) / (height (m))2 = kg/m2
With the metric system, the formula for BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Because height is commonly measured in centimeters, divide height in centimeters by 100 to obtain height in meters.
Example: Weight = 68 kg, Height = 165 cm (1.65 m)
Calculation: 68 ÷ (1.65)2 = 24.98
Scale Range:
According to WHO (World Health Organization), BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight and above 25 is considered overweight. 30 is obese whereas 25 is the red zone. Safest and healthiest range is 20-22.5.
Note that above BMI calculation is for adult only. For children (2-18), it is calculated as above and then compared with values of other children of same age range. If BMI is of less than 5th percentile, then it is considered underweight and if above 95th percentile then it is obese. 85th -95th is overweight.
There are other means to gain more detailed calculations like Body fat calculator, neck-waist-hip ratio calculator and clamping actions. All these should be done under professional guidance to avoid any risk and get optimum and more accurate results.
Rolling back to the main topic
Gaining of weight directly depends on the food and fluid that we consume. When more energy (in the form of calories from food in our body) is gained than the energy consumed or expended in life activities like in body functioning process and extra physical exercises, then the weight is gained.
In layman’s term: Less the calories consumption, more the chances of gaining weight.
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But remember, consuming less calorie doesn’t mean starving yourself. You can still lose weight while being full. Eat food that are less in calories but high in proteins and fibers and be thoughtful of what you consume, whether it is food or thoughts.
We will be focusing more on this issue in Chapter 3: Bullet tips to Ideal weight.
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2.3 Metabolism and its role on our body.
Now, another main factor that directly effects our body weight is metabolism. Let’s dig in below.
Well, you might have already heard a lot on metabolism, especially if you follow any health topics then also, let’s take a quick review.
Metabolism is a process; it is a set of life sustaining chemical reactions in our body. It is especially crucial for body as it converts the food that we eat into energy which is used to run the system. The energy is used to build blocks of protein, lipids, nucleic acids, enzymes, carbohydrates and for eliminating the metabolic wastes.
These functions allow us to grow and reproduce, maintain the body structure and respond in accordance of the environment like: maintaining temperature when it's cold, keeping body functional throughout the day and many more.
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The word metabolism can also refer to the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in living organisms, including digestion and the transport of substances into and between different cells, in which case the above described set of reactions within the cells is called intermediary metabolism or intermediate metabolism.
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How this is related to weight? you may ask. The answer; if the metabolic function alleviates in the body then more energy is consumed to support it. Like when you jump, walk or even read, metabolism process rises; which in result consumes more calories (energy) is burnt thus, helping us in our road to maintain that dreamed, ideal body.
You might know someone who just doesn’t gain weight, even if he consumes three times more than you. And some who instantly gain weight while just eating that one more slice of cake. This is all due to metabolic rates. It is differing from body to body.
...That guy who doesn’t gain weight has high metabolic rate, i.e. his body consumes high amount of energy. Whereas, the other guy (less fortunate one ?!) has low metabolic rate, his body doesn’t consume that much energy.
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Continue to Chapter 3: BULLET Tips to Ideal Weight
Learn: "how to boost your metabolism", "the do's and don'ts" and many other tips and tweaks to manage your weight
