What the scales don’t tell you
Stepping on the scales can be a frightful experience. At Diet For You we don’t force anyone unless they are happy to do so. Yet a big reason for the daunting nature of scales is the false or grossly exaggerated conclusions drawn. They happen to tell us a lot less than what is commonly believed.
Here are three things the scales don’t tell you.
Your health status
There are many things that can affect a person’s health, weight being one. Yet the link between weight and health has been exaggerated to the point where many believe they can’t be healthy, unless they are what mathematical equations deem healthy (we see you BMI!).
Whilst excess fat in the wrong spots, namely visceral fat, can increase risk of metabolic conditions, there are many other influential factors rarely discussed in the same way as weight. Here are few that come to mind…
Sleep. The quantity and quality of your sleep has a huge impact on risk factors. Yet we don’t equate sleep with health in nearly the same way we do weight.
Screen time. Check out research linking the weekly screen time and its link to health. It’s quite fascinating and scary at the same time. Yet, again, it’s rarely placed in the same category as weight.
Sitting. Is sitting the new smoking? I’m not so sure, but the more you sit is certainly correlated to health. And this is coming from someone who does, well, quite a bit of sitting (and nodding) behind a desk.
Stress. For many this is a reality of life, and how we experience and deal with stress is a big marker of health. Whilst this one is commonly acknowledged, it’s still not put on the same level as weight in term of consequence on health.
As you can see weight is just one of many factors linked to one’s health status, and should not be assumed to be the predominate factor of influence.
How healthy your diet is
Let me get straight to the point. I’ve met plenty of people who eat just as or even better than me, yet who in theory are considered overweight. I’ve also met plenty who are perfect in terms of BMI, yet whose diets are, well, far from healthy.
Whilst food quality can indeed impact our weight for good or bad, it’s much less influential than something completely outside of control. That’s right, our genetics. In many cases your weight says more about your genetic make-up than it does how much, or how well you eat.
Perhaps this is little comfort for someone who for decades has experienced what feels like a losing battle with their weight. Yet it’s important to put perspective on what this battle says about your health.
What should never be forgotten is the way we eat, is far more influential than the size of your jeans on health. And the good part is this is completely within our control.
How much fat you carry
Imagine in response to someone asking for a weight loss plan, I ask whether they mean fat, water, or muscle. As a dietitian I know very well that losing fat is the real intention. Yet losing weight and losing fat are not the same thing, evidenced by the fact you can lose one, without losing the other.
Imagine an athlete building muscle whilst adhering to a strict eating regime. In this situation you would expect any decrease in body fat to be at least matched by new growth of muscle.
For the average person the fat we carry makes up only 15-30% of our total body weight. In other words, more than two thirds of our weight has nothing to do with fat. And most short-term scale fluctuations are almost certainly due to fluid volume, rather than any change in fat.
Next time you step on the scales, keep in mind the many factors outside of body fat that will determine the number staring at you. Namely, the type of exercise you do, your hydration level and what you have eaten are a few.
In summary, understanding what the scales do and don’t tell us is crucial in keeping perspective on what our weight ultimately says about us. Which is much less than commonly assumed.
Written by David Finnin, Adelaide Dietitian & Nutritionist
