Ideal body weight, also called lean body weight, is a set of indicators that have been used for nearly 150 years. It is used in emergency situations, and its use has been enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read on to learn more about ideal body weight and how to calculate it quickly and easily with the AFPA Ideal Body Weight Calculator.
What is the ideal body weight?
The term “ideal body weight” has been carried over from The original IBW format It was developed by the French surgeon Dr. Pierre Paul Broca in 1871. He developed it as a low-cost and indirect method for assessing the body composition of soldiers in the French army.
Since then, there The differences and updates were of formulas for ideal body weight, including those developed by Robinson, Devine, Hamwi, Miller and Hammond. Most of these variations are referred to as lean body weight formulas or by using the developer’s name, rather than the term “ideal body weight,” which can be misleading.
How is the ideal body weight used?
Ideal body weight formulas are commonly used in medical circles as a method for calculating drug doses, kidney replacement doses, and nutritional prescriptions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency care professionals Boost Usage from ideal body weight rather than actual body weight as a safer and more accurate method of calculating drug doses.
Some health professionals transfer the use of optimal body weight formulas to counseling as a way to provide an overall weight loss or weight gain goal.
Most health professionals for whom weight is important in their training or treatment processes choose to use BMI rather than ideal body weight because it provides a range of weight considered normal or healthy, rather than a set number.
It may be important to consider body composition for health reasons; Having healthy muscle mass, for example, is linked to balance and function. Additionally, a healthy fat composition is linked to heart and metabolic health.
Keep in mind that BMI and ideal body weight are indirect ways to measure body composition. Thus, if body composition is important, other, more accurate methods can be used; These include skin folds, bioelectrical impedance analysis, dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and magnetic resonance imaging. However, for most people, these methods of measuring body composition are difficult or difficult to access.
Some individuals and clinicians choose to use ideal body weight calculations to help people understand how their current weight compares to linear weight based on their height and gender.
However, it is important to note that ideal body weight is not a measure of health. If health is a concern for an individual, it is important that they work with their primary doctor to screen for lab tests and overall wellness.
How to calculate the ideal body weight
There are several equations for calculating ideal body weight. The “gold standard” for calculating ideal body weight is the one that was developed by Dr. PJ Devine in 1974. The dosage of some drugs was to be calculated and continues to be used for this purpose. However, the use of the “Divine Formula” has been extended to provide an indication of ideal body weight based on height and gender. This formula is as follows:
Men: ideal body weight (in kilograms) = 50 + 2.3 * (height in inches over 5 feet)
Women: ideal body weight (in kilograms) = 45.5 + 2.3 * (height in inches more than 5 feet)
Let’s take the example of a 170 cm (5’7″) tall woman.
If we substitute it into the formula, we get the following:
Ideal body weight = 45.5 + (2.3 x 7) = 61.6 kg or 135.8 lbs.
Or use the easy way
The AFPA has developed a tool to help you calculate an ideal body weight based on a person’s gender and height. If an ideal body weight works for you, skip the calculator, save some time, and click here: https://www.afpafitness.com/tools-and-resources.
Home Takeaway
Ideal body weight, or lean body weight, is used in clinical settings to calculate safe drug doses. Some health professionals choose to use it in clinical or office settings to provide patients and clients with weight gain and weight loss goals based on their height. If you want to calculate your ideal body weight or help a client calculate their weight, you can save simplified ideal body weight formulas, or you can use the AFPA ideal body weight calculator.
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