Although the scale is still one of the most used tools for measuring health, experts warn against excessive dependence on it as an accurate mirror of the health condition. While the weight is supposed to reflect the percentage of fat and general health of the individual, the reality is more complicated, according to what recent medical studies indicate.
While people are used to linking thinness and wellness with weight gain and diseases, research proves that this perception may not be accurate. A person who consumes a balanced food, exercises exercise, and has perfect readings for blood pressure and cholesterol, may sometimes be classified as “unhealthy” only because the number on the scale is higher than it is common. On the other hand, another person may seem to be in the normal weight, but it lives on treated foods, and it moves only a little.
Weight, as doctors explain, does not show the quality of food, the level of physical activity, the quality of sleep, and the levels of stress. It also does not reveal the position of fat in the body, which is pivotal. The visceral fat, which surrounds internal organs, is more related to health risks such as heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer, compared to subcutaneous fats.
Experts explain that the BMI (BMI) is widely used for weight classification, does not distinguish between muscle mass and fat, which makes it possible to classify a sporty with advanced muscles as being overweight.
Although there is a statistical relationship between obesity and some diseases, this does not mean that everyone who carries an overweight suffers from health problems. What is known as “healthy metabolic obesity” is one of the examples that challenge this perspective, as some of those who classify obese people have natural levels of sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.
Likewise, there are cases of people who look thin, but they carry harmful guts, or follow an unhealthy lifestyle, which makes them vulnerable to health risks despite their external appearance. Scientists call this phenomenon the term “tofi”, that is, “slim from the outside, fat from the inside.”
The reason behind the intense weight measuring weight is due to being an easy, fast and cheap tool, compared to advanced medical examinations that require time, cost and experience. The weight is also one of the few indicators that can be observed in the eye, which explains the speed of society in issuing judgments.
But the excessive concentration of weight, as studies indicate, may lead to counterproductive results, including psychological tension and eating disorders, and may even discourage efforts to lose weight itself. Research has shown that obesity stigma does not stimulate individuals to change their lifestyle, but may push them towards more isolation or troubled nutritional behaviors.
In this context, public health specialists call for a review of the way in which the concept of good health is measured, and instead focus on the quality of the diet, the extent of exercise, the level of sleep, and mechanisms for dealing with stress.
The number on the scale, in their opinion, does not tell the full story.
