Weight Management >> Overview >> BMI Calculation >> Common Weight Loss Practices

Current Trend

• According to the World Health Organization, obesity rates of the world’s population has increased from 12% to 18% in the last 7 years.
• In Malaysia, 4.4% of the population were obese and 16.6% of the population were overweight (1996 and 1997, Ministry Of Health).
• In Malaysia, one in every five adult Malaysian is overweight / obese (Weight Management Information Centre chairman, Prof. Dr. Mohd. Ismail Noor, reported in New Strait Times on 5 July 2002).
• The 1992 Singapore National Health Survey found that 5% of the adults population was obese and 21% overweight.

BMI Calculation

Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI does not actually measure body fat but it generally correlates well with the degree of obesity. Refer to the table to calculate your BMI  and determine your healthy weight range and relative health risk.  BMI  You are  Explanation  < 18.5  Underweight  Malnutrition  18.5 - 22.9  Ideal  Weight  Healthy weight for all  adults  23 - 24.9  Overweight  Increase risk for illness  such as diabetes and heart  disease  >= 25  Obese  Greater risk for illness   such as diabetes and  heart disease Note: BMI should not be used on frail or sickly elderly people, children below 16 years of age, pregnant women, lactating mothers, competitive and professional body builders.

Common Weight Loss Practices

Common Practices

Chronic Dieting
Chronic dieting is a very common incorrect eating habit to lose weight. The most frequent problem in chronic dieting is the mental anguish that will ultimately lead to eating disorders such as bingeing, purging and self-starvation, also known as bulimia and anorexia nervosa. This leads to nutrient deficiencies whereby the bodily functions of these individuals gradually deteriorate, which can sometimes be fatal.

Surgical Treatments
Another popular method of reducing weight is through a surgical treatment like liposuction, which removes fat deposits beneath the skin using a tube with a powerful vacuum. While the result is almost immediate, like all surgeries, a level of risk is to be expected. These risks include disfigurement, irregularities in the skin texture and depression in the surgical areas.

Very Low Calorie Diet Meal Replacement
The latest trend to lose unwanted weight is to go on a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). These products commonly require medical supervision and should only be used for short periods of time. Most of these products adopt a ‘full fast’ programme using diet formulas which restricts calorie intake to an extremely low level of 500 – 800 calories a day, thus creating a significant gap between calorie intake and the requirements of the body. This extremely low calorie intake forces the body to lose weight rapidly due to the over-production of ketones, commonly known as ketosis, especially if the programme is not properly followed under the supervised guidelines by a medical physician. While ketosis is vital for successful weight loss and management, severe ketosis can be dangerous, especially when the diet programme is not medically supervised. For instance, when the body is in a state of ketosis where ketones are the main source of energy, there is a high risk of epilepsy and fatigue as the brain cannot use ketones very well as fuel.

Negative Effects Caused By An Extremely Low-Calorie Intake (Full Fast Diet, Which Is Not Medically Supervised)

Lowering of Metabolic Rate
Unsupervised full fast VLCDs lower the metabolic rate because the body switches to the ‘save energy’ mode to decrease the calories–burning rate. This makes losing weight even harder and may even add body fat when normal eating habits are resumed, because of the lowered metabolic rate. As a result, long term weight loss becomes increasingly difficult, even if consumption is reduced.

The Yo-Yo Phenomenon
This phenomenon comes about when a large and rapidly achieved loss of weight is followed by an equally large and rapid weight gain upon resumption of normal eating habits. These swings are repetitive as long-term eating habits have not been changed.

An extremely low calorie diet allows little or no choice of food. It is difficult to continue these unsupervised types of VLCDs for long periods and the lost weight is ultimately regained. Research has shown that dieters who repeatedly lose and gain weight have a greater risk of contracting both heart disease and cancer.

Health-related Problems
Unsupervised full fast VLCDs can adversely affect an individual’s health. Coronary Heart Disease is the No.1 killer in Malaysia that causes 16% of all deaths (Ministry of Health in Malaysia). In fact, 20-25g fibre per day is required to lower cholesterol levels and protect the heart (recommended by the American Diabetes Association). A daily carbohydrate intake of less than 150g may also lead to serious health problems such as epilepsy and lethargy, heart disease, kidney disease, gallstone formation, gout, constipation, nausea and diarrhea. (Weight Control Information Network; National Institutes of Health, USA; American Heart Association; American Glycemic Research Institute)

Loss of Lean Muscle
Due to the low calorie intake of 500 – 800 calories daily, many unsupervised full fast VLCDs tend to trigger severe ketosis as the very low calorie intake forces the body to metabolise both fat stores and muscle protein for energy. This will inevitably deplete muscle mass, which is critical for movement, support and strength.

Adverse Effect On Lifestyle And Work
Unsupervised full fast programmes carried out in the long term can adversely affect lifestyle and work as it increases a general feeling of fatigue and weakness as well as an inability to concentrate.