There are different designations of body weight, some of which are medical, some of which have their origin in advertising. – Ideal weight
- Feel-good weight
- Desirable weight
- Broca weight
Ideal weight
This concept of ideal weight is no longer in use today. It was originally introduced to determine the weight with the lowest mortality. However, it is associated with cosmetic ideas, is therefore misleading and has not been used in medical language for several years.
Feel-good weight
This designation of the feel-good weight is often used in advertising. It gives the impression of being able to feel the optimal weight for your health. However, increased body weight and body fat can be accompanied by accompanying illnesses that are not unpleasant and do not impair the feeling of well-being. For example, increased blood sugar over a longer period of time can cause serious consequential damage.
Desirable weight
This is the weight with the lowest mortality and the longest life expectancy. This term has replaced the term “ideal weight”. These data were first determined by American life insurance companies.
The tables were divided according to height, age and sex. They are subject to a certain amount of change over time and have been modified and adapted again and again in recent years. The existing body weight (ideally in the Body Mass Index – range from 20 to 24.9 and in no case over 30) can be maintained on the background of predisposition (genetic disposition) eating habits and eating behaviour, without this weight having to be forced by constant periods of hunger or by extremely one-sided and not long-term sustainable eating behaviour.
Broca weight
Until a few years ago, the so-called Broca formula was used to assess body weight. It is: Broca weight = body length (cm) – 100 (example: Normal weight with a height of 170 cm = 70 kg. The ideal weight for men was 10% and for women 15% below Broca’s weight. An advantage of this method was the low calculation effort. It is no longer needed today.
Genetic disposition
According to recent findings, the individual genetic disposition (predisposition) plays a far greater role in the question of whether someone is getting fat or not than previously assumed. In a Canadian study, people of the same age and sex were overfed with 1000 calories daily for 100 days. The subjects gained weight in different amounts (between 4 and 14 kilograms) and at different speeds.
So it can be assumed that there are indeed “good” and “bad” feed converters. Thus, the inheritance of a reduced basal metabolic rate (energy consumption at rest) is often the cause of overweight. A family history of overweight is obvious.
In families with overweight adults, children and grandchildren are often also too fat. In Danish studies (Stunkard, 1986) it has been proven If both parents were too fat, the children also developed overweight in 80% of all cases during their lives. Of course, the role model function of the parents also plays an important role here. Nutritional behaviour, eating habits and physical activity (sport) are exemplified by the parents and adopted by the children.
