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Flight Fitness | Weight
Management
Maintaining
ideal body weight is a matter of caloric balance.
To lose weight one
must expend more calories than is consumed.
To gain weight
excess consumption of sufficient calories is all that is required.
Weight Loss Medications
Fenfluramine (Pondimin),
Phentermine (Adipex), Dexfenfluramine (Redux) and Orlistat (Xenical))
are typically not accepted by the FAA for pilot use. Sibutramine was only
recently approved by the FDA for marketing and currently would not be considered
for airmen. Dexfenfluramine
and Fenfluramine have been
removed from the market by the FDA.
Maintaining ideal weight is best achieved with diet and activity combined;
increasing activity while decreasing food intake. Maintaining
your ideal weight reduces the risk for many diseases and may prevent premature
death.
Currently the FAA
approves very few weight loss medications. There are some herbal preparations
which may be effective, yet these often have undesirable side effects.
 Increasing
Activity  Improving Fitness
Strength
to Weight Ratio
HOW DO I DETERMINE MY IDEAL
WEIGHT?
(1) Measure your waist
circumference. Excessive
body fat in your waist area increases your risk for many health problems. The waist circumference
should be measured just above the navel. A
high-risk waistline is defined as more than 35 inches (88 cm) for women, and
more than 40 inches (102 cm) for men.
(2) Calculate your Body Mass Index
(BMI). The body mass index is a formula
to assess a person's body weight relative to height. It's a useful, indirect
measure of body composition, because it correlates highly with body fat in most
people. Weight in kilograms is divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2).
In
studies by the National Center for Health Statistics,
- BMI values less than 18.5 are
considered underweight.
- BMI values from 18.5 to 24.9
are healthy.
- Overweight is defined as a
body mass index of 25.0 to less than 30.0. A BMI of approximately 25
kg/m2 corresponds to about 10 percent over ideal body weight. People with
BMI's in this range have a moderate risk of heart and blood vessel
disease.
- Obesity is defined as a
BMI of 30.0 or greater (based on criteria of the World Health
Organization), or about 30 pounds overweight. People with BMI's of 30 or more
are at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Extreme obesity is defined as
a BMI of 40 or greater.
Most highly fit people have a high BMI score but very little body fat. For them
the waist circumference, the skin-fold or fat-fold measurements, or more direct
methods of measuring body fat may be more useful measures.
Ideal Body
Weight - CALCULATING YOUR Body Mass Index
To calculate your exact BMI
number, multiply your weight in pounds by 705, divide by your height in inches,
then divide again by your height in inches.
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