Greek International Activities

EXERCISE AND NUTRITION – CALCULATE YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT

Do you know why exercise is beneficial?

Epidemiological Research suggests that exercise, i.e. organized 30 minutes physical activity at least three times a week, is beneficial to our health and helps us to control our weight. Systematic exercise improves the function of the heart and of the respiratory system, reducing the risk of coronary and respiratory diseases. Furthermore, it increases the skeletal mass (prevention against osteoporosis) and improves the musculature, helping the treatment of many relevant diseases. Finally, exercise increases the energy expenditure of our organism, meaning the consumption of calories, contributing thus to the reduction of our body weight in parallel of course, to a suitable diet.

Calorie consumption by a 70kg individual under various activities

Activity Calorie consumption per 30 minutes
Sleeping 40
Standing up 70
Walking 90
Fast Walking 150
Swimming 360
Exercising 210
Soccer 270

Don’t forget that if there is no time for organized exercise, you can substitute exercise for a daily walk.


FIND YOUR IDEAL WEIGHT

Body Mass Index (BMI) for Adults
The Body Mass Index is the most frequently applied measure for the body weight’s and overweight’s estimation in everyday clinical practice. The Body Mass Index is widely known mainly because it is very easy to calculate and because it is better related to body fat than any other measure. Nevertheless, we should take into consideration that the Body Mass Index provides only an indication and not an accurate index for measuring the body fat. For an appropriate and complete picture, you should visit a scientist-dietitian, who will estimate the total composition of your body, using skinfold and other anthropometric estimation methods.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is easily calculated by dividing our weight in kilograms with our quadratic height in meters:
ΒΜΙ = Weight (in kg) / Height2 (in m2)
Example:

Calculation of the BMI of a woman with a weight of 60kg and a height of 1,60m:
ΒΜΙ = 60 / 1,602 = 60 / (1,6 x 1,6) = 60 / 2,56 = 23,4 kg/ m2

Body Mass Index (ΒΜΙ) Classification Disease Risk*
< 18,5 Underweight Χαμηλός (Low (high risk of diseases, such as psychogenic anorexia, undernourishment etc.)
18,5 – 24,9 Normal Weight Low – Medium
25 – 29,9 Overweight High
Obesity:
30 – 34,9 Obesity
1st degree		 Very High
35 – 39,9 Obesity
2nd degree		 Seriously High
>40 Obesity
3rd degree		 Extremely High

*risk refers to chronic, obesity-related, decay diseases, like heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus etc.

Sources:

  1. Παναγιωτάκος Δ. , Χρυσοχόου Χ. , Πίτσαβος Χ. , Μαρινάκης Ν. , Σκούμας Ι., Στεφανίδης Χ., Τούτουζας Π. Κ., Συσχέτιση μεταξύ στεφανιαίας νόσου και παραγόντων κινδύνου που συνδέονται με τον τρόπο ζωής. Μελέτη ασθενών – μαρτύρων σε Ελληνικό δειγμα (CARDIO 2000).
  2. PateRR, Pratt M, Blair SN, Haskell WL, Maceα CA, Bouchard C et al Physical activity and public health: a recommendation from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Sports Medicine JAMA 1995 , 273:402-407.
  3. National Institute of Health. NIH Consesus Conference: Physical activity and cardiovascular health JAMA 1996, 276:241-246.
  4. Ebraim S, Davey – Smith G. Multiple risk factor interventions for primary prevention of coronary heart disease Cochrane Data – Base Syst rev 2000,2.
  5. Garrow JS and Webster J. Quetelet's index (W/H2) as a measure of fatness. International Journal of Obesity 1985;9:147–153.
  6. Gallagher D, et al. How useful is BMI for comparison of body fatness across age, sex and ethnic groups? American Journal of Epidemiology 1996;143:228–239.
  7. World Health Organization. Physical status: The use and interpretation of anthropometry. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization 1995. WHO Technical Report Series.