Skip to main content

Posts

Is Junk food always unhealthy and Healthy food always healthy?

Junk food is so popularly frowned upon that I almost every day hear people cursing it for their lack of six-pack abs. Yes, that might be one of the reasons for the low fitness level but not the sole reason. Let's talk about what is considered junk food. Do not confuse junk food with fast food (that is another different story) Junk food definition   Junk food  is a  pejorative  term for food containing a large number of calories from sugar or fat with little   dietary fiber ,  protein ,  vitamins  or  minerals . The term can also refer to high protein food like meat prepared with  saturated fat .  Junk foods have   empty calories , i.e. the energy content is not complemented with  proteins  and  lipids  required for a nutritious diet. Junk Food So, when you say "junk food", according to the definition I'm going to assume you are referring to candy, soda, chips, etc. Is Junk food unhealthy?   If a substance provides no nutritional benefit and tri

Know all about Body Mass Index (BMI). (Part-2)

In the Part -1 , we learned about what is Body Mass Index (BMI), how BMI calculation is done and history of BMI. In this part we will learn about the significance of BMI as a body fat indicator and limitations of BMI. Importance of Measuring BMI BMI as a health indicator has been discussed a lot in the medical community. Though, it is measured in numbers, yet it is considered just as an indicator. BMI is often used for risk assessment for general population.  Numerous research studies have concluded that BMI helps to detect health issues at an early stage and can be very helpful to prevent fatal diseases. A body mass index in the low range signals that you could be malnourished. Maybe your body isn’t properly absorbing nutrients or maybe you’re just not getting enough calories to support your activity level.   As a rule of thumb, as a person's BMI increases or decreases after a certain limits, the person's risk of having some certain disease increases. Studies

Know all about Body Mass Index (BMI). (Part-1)

The concept of Body Mass Index (BMI) is very simple. A ratio of your height and weight are used to calculate your BMI. It came out as an invaluable tool for identifying and tracking population trends in weight. People also try to relate it with the measure of body fat and as a way to help define overweightness and obesity. While it as an indicator of body fatness, it is not the best tool to tell about the body fat. BMI has many limitations in the assessment of the individual as it does not take into account the distribution of body fat. We will learn about BMI origin, calculations , limitations and how we can use BMI to maintain a good health.

BMI Calculator

To determine if you're at a healthy weight, enter the following information and calculate your body mass index (BMI). BMI Calculator BMI Categories: Underweight = <18.5 Normal weight = 18.5–24.9  Overweight = 25–29.9  Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater