Karthigai Selvi, Dietician,
Dr. M G Bhat, Consultant Surgeon

This is a guide to learn the calorie consumed on our regular food intake.

Normal Requirement

Calorie -20-30 Kcal /Kg body wt. The requirements will be more during higher activity and in increased body metabolism during serious illness.

Protein – 2.0 gm Nitrogen per Kg body weight. (1gm Nitrogen = 6.2 gm protein)

Body Mass Index

No longer does a simple excess of weight as defined by height/weight tables suffice to define obesity because an excess of weight does not necessarily  reflect the degree of excess of fat. For example, because muscle mass weighs more than fat tissue, some very muscular athletes may weigh more than non-athletes of the same age and height and appear obese on the scale, while they really are not, because their fat mass is small.

A more accurate reflection of body fat is given by the Body Mass Index.  The BMI can be calculated easily from the following formula:

BMI = (Weight in kg /Height in meters²)

A Desirable body weight and BMI

These calculations can provide a very good estimate of whether a person’s excess fat puts them at risk for their health.

“Overweight ” body corresponds to a BMI that is, 25.0 – 29.9 while “Obesity” corresponds to a BMI of 30 or more

Both of these measurements of BMI are associated with greater health risk.
If you have a BMI below 25.0, BMI is not associated closely enough to actual body fat to tell if an individual is at an optimum body weight or not. To determine what a desirable weight for you would be, consider your percentage of body fat (get it measured), consider what weight makes you feel and look your best, and discuss with your health care professional.

The table below calculates this for you and provides body weights in pounds, height in feet and inches, and its corresponding BMI.

Table of Body Mass Index (BMI) *
Weight Chart

 *Table is Referenced from: Contemporary Diagnosis and Management of Obesity
George A. Bray, Copyright ©1998,Handbooks in Health Care Co