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.

Where is the fat in your diet?

Health statistics in the Caribbean show that too much fat is included in our diets.  This is as a direct result of our tastes and of our culture.  It is highly recommended that adults and children with medically related problems lower the fat in their diet.  This is easy to achieve without compromising texture or taste of the items being consumed.

We are advised that 30% of our daily caloric intake should come from fat.  When having a 1600-calorie diet this would mean about 480 calories from fat (53 grams), and a 2000-calorie diet would allow about 600 calories – about 65 grams.

Each of the following contains about 4 to 5 grams of fat:

·        1 teaspoon            margarine or butter

·        1 teaspoon            regular mayonnaise

·        2 teaspoons          Italian salad dressing

·        3 teaspoons          light margarine

·        3 teaspoons          reduced-fat mayonnaise

·        3 teaspoons          cream cheese

·        4 teaspoons          table (light) cream.

It is important to know where fat comes from in your diet.  In addition to using a teaspoon to measure fat that you are going to cook with or add to your foods, you should read the Nutrition Facts panels on food labels.  This tells exactly how much fat is in the product as well as how much is in a serving.  It also lets you know the type of fat you are consuming.

Some terms on the label include: 

Fat-free                             contains less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving.

Low fat                              3 grams or less of fat per serving.

Reduced or less fat           at least 25% or less fat* per serving.     

Light or lite                         1/3 fewer calories or 50% less fat* per serving.

-% fat-free                         the food meets the definition of “low-fat” or “fat free” if stated as 100% fat free.

Lean                                  less than 10 grams total fat, 4.5 grams or less saturated fat, and 95 milligrams cholesterol per 3 ounce serving and per 100 grams.*

Extra lean                          less than 5 grams total fat, 2 grams saturated fat and 95 milligrams cholesterol per 3 ounce serving and per 100 grams.*

*As compared to a standard serving size of the traditional food.

Consider all the foods you eat for the day when trying to lower your fat intake.  Not only the foods themselves but what we add to the foods for the meal.

A healthy diet consists of whole grain breads and cereal, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, skinless poultry, legumes, fish and low- fat dairy products.