An NHS watchdog has outlined a simple test you can do at home to check if you are a healthy weight. By taking a measurement of your waist and your height, you can find out whether you might need to lose weight, according to guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
The NHS uses body mass index (BMI) as a measure to assess who is a healthy weight. In general, a BMI of 18 to 25 is considered a healthy weight, 25 to 30 is overweight, and over 30 is obese. However, healthcare professionals also take other factors into account such as how muscular someone is.
Now, for the first time, NICE has advised that adults with a BMI under 35 should measure their own waist-to-height ratio as part of wider plans to tackle obesity. The organisation says your waist measurement should be less than half of your height.
