Normal Weight, Yet Unhealthy—A Growing Concern

Normal weight obesity: it sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s not. It’s possible to fall in the normal weight range and still have weight-related health issues. New research points out that it’s not enough to look at the bathroom scales or your body mass index (BMI, a measure of one’s weight in relation to height) in order to determine the status of your health; levels of body fat also need to be monitored. Normal BMI is 18.5-24.9, overweight is 25-29.9, and obese is over 30 (you can calculate your BMI at: www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.) Although BMI can be a helpful tool in evaluating your weight, it has limitations.