Most people are not active enough, while almost everybody knows that exercise is good for you.
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Physical activity, nutrition and weight are related. When you are more active, you consume more energy and thus you will lose weight when you eat the same. The food that you consume every day delivers, besides valuable nutrients like proteins, minerals and vitamins, also energy (lipids or fat, and carbohydrates or sugars). You need that energy to maintain your body (metabolic energy) and to let your body do various tasks (activity induced energy). If you take in more energy on a daily basis than you use, the surplus energy is stored in fat reserves. A smart move of your body to prepare for difficult times. However, in our Western civilization, those difficult times do not seem to come, so that many are too fat.
It is important to realize that a bit overweight is no problem. If you are active enough even a couple of pounds too much is still healthy. Not many people know that inactivity correlates directly with chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, osteoporosis and some kinds of cancer. A fit but fat body has a considerable lower risk for chronic diseases.
A way to assess whether you are too heavy or not is the so called BMI, or body mass index. Your BMI is calculated from your body height and weight. The Pam site shows your BMI on the goal page. In the table below you get an idea of what a certain BMI means. By the way: the BMI is calculated in meters and kilograms.
BMI | |
< 18,5 | Too light |
20 - 25 | Ideal weight |
25 - 27 | Light overweight |
27 - 30 | Overweight |
> 30 | Obese |
The circumference of your belly is a good indicator as well. The distribution of body fat has a relation with health risk. Fat concentrated at your belly (apple shape) implies a higher health risk than fat concentrated around the hips (pear shape). For women a healthy limit is 88 cm, and for men 102 cm.
If you are overweight and want to lose some weight, you can do two things: eat less and/or move more. Pam helps you to become more physically active, and you know that physical activity is good for you, not only to get a better shape. However, when you start eating less, you will see the pounds fly away much quicker. Science has proven that the combination of more activity and less food intake is the best way.
For a steady and healthy result, we advise to lose not more than 5-10% of your weight on a yearly basis and then try to keep that new weight for another year. When you succeed, it proves that you have completely adjusted your lifestyle. If you want to lose weight quicker, go to your doctor or dietitian, because don't forget: the yoyo-ghost is lurking in the dark!