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puballorencontre.gif (9877 octets) 1-Weight control, a twentieth century quest
Ch. Agboton
Global Development physician, DTG-Internal Medicine UCB Pharma R&D

My intent is not to analyse the social phenomenon behind this behaviour, but to give a medicaly-oriented view of the problem. So, what is the ideal weight?
The ideal weight is not medically defined. As strange as it seems, the first persons really interested in such an 'ideal weight' were the insurers. They knew that weight excess was positively correlated with death, and consecutively with life insurance wages.For a given sex and height a corresponding weight is appropriate.

   A good rule of thumb is to use the Body Mass Index (BMI), defined by Quetelet as the following ratio: weight (kg)/ height squared (m). Between 19 and 25 is considered as healthy.
        The fact that sudden weight change is a sign of disease is probably known from ancient agesTo be overweighted is a bad thing, but to be too meagre is a bad sign as well. The ideal weight is only defined in statistical terms. However, the number of diseases associated with weight loss (Diabetes, hyperthyroidism, chronic infection, urinary tract infection, abscess, Addison's disease, AIDS...) or weight gain (Diabetes, Cushing's disease...) is awesome.  Reciprocally, inappropriate weight could trigger a series of diseases (heart diseases for instance). But before going further, one has to understand how weight is related to energy and energy to nutrients, namely glucids, lipids and proteins.

          

      
Ch. Agboton  Global Development physician, DTG-Internal Medicine UCB Pharma R&D