Nestlé Caribbean Region. Take a High Five for Life.

Check Health, take a hi five for life

The BMI or Mass Index gives us an indication of how much fat a person has in relation to their weight and height. It helps to determine weather a person is underweight, normal, overweight or obese. Even though it does not provide us with a distinction between the fat and the non fat components of the overall body mass (muscle to fat ratio), it is still the most practical method to evaluate one’s degree of risk associated with obesity.

Your BMI is , if your BMI is less than 18.5, based on your height, you are considered to be underweight. You should speak to your doctor or health professional to help determine the possible causes, as well as for the best advice on weight gain.

Your BMI is , if your BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9, based on your height, you are considered to have a healthy weight. A healthy/ normal body weight is one that would lower your risk of nutrition-related diseases.

Your BMI is , if your BMI is between 25 and 29.9, based on your height, you are considered to be overweight. In this group, there is a growing risk to develop chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Your BMI is , if your BMI is 30 or more, based on your height, you are considered to be obese. At this point, there is a moderate to high risk of developing chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol.

Your BMI is , if your BMI is 40 or more, based on your height, you are considered Morbidly Obese. Suffering Morbid Obesity puts you at a very high risk of developing chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiac arrest, arthritis and other life threatening illnesses.

It is very important to put life measures in place to reduce your weight and as such improve your health. The best way is usually to combine a healthy diet with regular physical exercise. You should speak to your doctor, health care professional, and dietician, to determine the best suited way for you to lose weight.

Be happy is the step to remind you to take the time to enjoy and appreciate life, to relax, combat stress and appreciate yourself, your family and friends. It is also about making the needed “me-time” which sometimes you lose among all the daily routine. It is good to remember that you only have one life to live – celebrate life and live it to the best of your ability. Because after all – being happy is also part of being healthy.

Remember you can do all the other steps of eating healthy, exercising etc. but if you are mentally and physically stressed, overworked and unhappy you can still have a poor quality of life. And just like each of the fingers on our hands, each step works in harmony with the other for the benefit of our body’s health. And a body that gets the right nourishment will be able to work at its best. So don’t be caught waiting until all the conditions are right (i.e. money, food, time, health) to be happy….‘Wake up and LIVE’ – Be HAPPY.

So if you are already taking any one of these steps in your day “TAKE A HIGH FIVE”. If you are working on getting there – still “TAKE A HIGH FIVE” for trying and together we will get there. Click on the step to give you ideas of how to get started.