Almost every bathroom has a scale in it and the weight loss industry is worth over $66 billion per year. Many weight loss programs promote health as a reason to lose weight.
A person’s weight does not tell you how healthy that person is. It never has, and never will.
So what does our weight tell us?
We cannot tell if someone is healthy or not by their weight. When we weigh ourselves we may be interested in how much fat we have as body fat is associated with an increased risk for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. But weight is more than just fat, it includes our lean tissue (mostly muscle) and bone as well.
While a higher amount of body fat is not good, a higher amount of muscle is, and your weight scale can’t tell you which is which. There are also plenty of people who are of ideal or normal BMI who are not healthy, and people who may be considered overweight, or even obese, who are in better physical shape, and may have lower risk factors than people who are thinner.
When it comes to body fat, it’s just like real estate; location, location, location. Body fat around the waist is associated with a greater risk for disease than fat elsewhere. It is the apple shape (bigger waist) versus the pear shape (bigger hips) discussion. This is because the type of fat and fat cells that sits around our waist is different. It is more metabolically active and causes more trouble. A person who may have a normal BMI could still have an elevated waist and be at greater risk for disease than someone who is overweight and may have excess body fat around their hips and a slim waist. While a lot of people may not desire fat around the hips, it isn’t as problematic with respect to health risks.
Should I stop weighing myself?
The answer would be to weigh yourself for the right reasons. Tracking Weight in the context of knowing what is good for and what it isn’t. There are studies that show people who weigh themselves regularly are more successful at weight loss and management. In these cases, it likely provides that accountability and feedback on one’s lifestyle as I find with myself. However, one shouldn’t obsess over their weight nor mistake their body weight for defining how healthy they are. Taking stock of your lifestyle (nutrition, activity, sleep patterns, etc.) will do more to tell you about your health than weight or BMI.
Ref: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10865-017-9870-y