Estimating your health promoting weight range (HPWR)

It is hard to reach your ideal or acceptable weight as ‘decreed’ by tables published by Life Insurance companies and other organisations. It is harder still to maintain it. Countless individuals who have experienced the phenomenon of weight cycling invariably linked to “yo-yo” dieting are walking proof of this.

The HPWR (health promoting weight range) is introduced here as the target the RELIED 500 Cal. Plan aims for. There are at least two good reasons for this. First, by implication it can reinforce the positive role that the body weight can play in health matters because it is derived from the BMI (body mass index) range (21 to 25) linked to the lowest risk of premature death. Second the fact that you estimate your very own personal HPWR may hopefully give you that extra drive to get to and more importantly to stay within it.

You can estimate your HPWR by following the example below. Make a record of it for future reference.

Example:
Determining the HPWR of Miss C. Green (BMI = 28.124) and (height = 1.676 metres) and (medium frame size) [Frame size assessment will be dealt with at some later date].

Lowest weight of HPWR = 21 x Height x Height (in metres)
= 21 x 1.676 x 1.676
= 58.988 kilograms (rounded off to 59)
Highest weight pf HPWR = 25 x Height x Height
= 25 x 1.676 x 1.676
= 70.224 kilograms (rounded off to 70)
Thus HPWR (across the 3 frame sizes) = 59 to 70 kilograms
Relating HPWR to frame size

Since the ‘general’ HPWR for Miss Green spans 11 kilograms (59 to 70), it can be narrowed down to match her frame size as follows:
Dividing 11 kilograms by 3 = 3.66 kilograms
HPWR-- (small frame) = 59 to 62.66 kilograms (59 + 3.66 kilograms)
--(medium frame) = 62.67 to 66.33 (62.67 + 3.66 kilograms)
---(large frame) = 66.34 to 70 (66.34 + 3.66 kilograms)
Thus for Miss C. Green (of medium frame):
The HPWR = 62.67 to 66.33 kilograms or 138 to 146 pounds (multiplying by 2.2).

Taking into account her current weight of 79 kilograms
It can be concluded that she is outside her HPWR by:
12.67 kilograms (79 minus 66.33 kilograms) or
27.87 pounds (12.67 x 2.2 pounds) = 28 pounds (rounded off)

Thus it should take her 28 weeks to reach the highest weight of her HPWR at an average loss of 1 pound per week. This may appear too long but the RELIED 500 Cal. Plan aims to reduce the risk of weight cycling.