Health vs. Weight: Do Numbers Matter?

It has been long debated and conceptualized: the number on the scale. For decades, people relied on the number at their feet to validate their efforts to lose weight or to confirm their fears. In the world of weight loss, people can be obsessive about weighing themselves as though it is the end all be all of whether or not they are successful in their journey or not.

With so many different body types, medical needs, and situational differences, it may be wise to consider if perhaps there might be another way.

The alternative exists in the concept of health. In comparing health and weight as a means to determine which matters more, there are some things to observe.

Challenges with Valuing Weight

While weight is an adequate way to measure if someone is technically overweight. It is not the most thorough investigation of the contents of that weight.

Varying Data Significance

With this in mind, weight can reflect information that is conflicting with whether or not they are actually in good health or making progress.

For example, the fat tends to weigh lighter than muscle. So a naturally lean person may have an incongruent level of fat in proportion to the rest of their body. The scale may reflect that a person is getting heavier when they might be losing fat.

A Lack of Information

Along with weight, BMI is often calculated to determine someone’s progress with weight loss, which is the calculation of their weight relative to their height.

This information, while hardly obsolete, does blind the importance of many other things to consider when it comes to individual-based weight loss.

Examining health provides more information and insight into the lifestyle and habits of the individual. Over time, this information becomes deeper rooted in a person’s tendencies. It can serve as a tool to project how the body will be affected over time. This might be a more valuable indicator of the main reason why weight loss efforts fail: lack of longevity.

What Matters

Comparing whether weight or health, in general, is more important might be irrelevant altogether. It’s possible that all of the information is useful but should be used for reference to specific things as opposed to the final word on your effort.

Try This Method

One better way to monitor weight loss is the method of taking photos and measurements. Always take comparative photos in the same place, with the same lighting, and similar or the same clothing with the same pose.

If the question is health vs. numbers, the answer is we need all the help we can get to help ourselves. The true testament of effectiveness is up to those who are consistent in their effort.