Better than BMI

Figuring out whether your weight is in the healthy range involves multiplication, division and calculating your height in inches, squared. If you do all that right, you'll get your Body Mass Index (BMI), which ideally should be in the range of 19 to 24.

Currently the BMI has been sidelined in favor of waist circumference measurements as being a better tool.

Now comes the revision of an old tool I used decades ago when I was in college and studying nutrition for health.

A Nevada professor of applied statistics has come up with an easier formula you probably can do in your head. 

Here's how: for women, the baseline height is 5 feet and the maximum weight limit (MWL) is 125, meaning that if you're 5 feet tall and weigh more than 125 you’re over your MWL. If you're taller, add 4.5 pounds for every extra inch so if you’re 5'5", your MWL would be 147.5 (125 + 22.5). If you’re less than 5 feet tall, subtract 4.5 pounds for every inch below that baseline. 

For men, the baseline height is 5'9" and MWL is 175. For every additional inch, add five pounds (or subtract five for every inch under 5'9"). Results closely correspond to your BMI. 

Professor George Fernandez presented his new method at the Sept. 22, 2009 Nevada Public Health Association Conference.

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Posted in: BMI,eating fast leads to weight gain,George Fernandez,healthy weight,obesity,waist circumference

Stuffing Face 101: Eating fast makes us fat

ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Greek researchers say mom was right when she said "wolfing down your food will make you fat."

The study, published in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, finds those taking a full 30 minutes to eat ice cream tend to have higher concentrations of two satiety inducing gut hormones -- peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide -- and had more of a feeling of being full than those who ate their ice cream quickly.

"Our study provides a possible explanation for the relationship between speed eating and overeating by showing that the rate at which someone eats may impact the release of gut hormones that signal the brain to stop eating," lead author Dr. Alexander Kokkinos of Laiko General Hospital in Athens says in a statement.

A decreased release of gut hormones, Kokkinos says, can often lead to overeating.

"Our findings give some insight into an aspect of modern-day food overconsumption, namely the fact that many people, pressed by demanding working and living conditions, eat faster and in greater amounts than in the past," Kokkinos says.

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Posted in: eating fast leads to weight gain,obesity,overeating,stress and obesity