Sustainable and effective weight reduction

IN most affluent societies, an increasing proportion of the population tends to be overweight or obese and hence it is not surprising that weight loss has become a common desire for many, both for aesthetic and medical reasons. Before jumping onto the weight loss bandwagon, understanding the latest American Heart Association guidelines published in November 2013 in the Circulation Journal provides one with a practical approach to the management of excessive weight gain.

Who needs to lose weight?

Many people who undergo weight-loss programmes do it primarily for aesthetic reasons rather than for medical reasons. From the medical view point, it is good to understand which individuals can benefit from weight loss. Most criteria for the definition of overweight or obese condition utilise the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculation. BMI can be calculated as weight in kilogrammes divided by the square of the height in metres. Current US definitions consider a BMI (kg/m2) of 18.5 to less than 25 as normal weight, 25 to less than 30 as overweight, 30 to less than 35 as class 1 obese, 35 to less…