Many of us may have thrown caution to the wind during the Christmas season and ate more than we usually do. Others might have shelved our exercise routines and gained some extra pounds.

A little extra weight may not be all that bad. Gaining weight is not necessarily a bad idea or even the main cause of many of the health risks; lack of physical activity is the real problem. The human body was made to do physical work. It functions best when it is kept active - 'when you rest too much you rust'.

Ideal body weight

Many of us think that we need to lose some weight, others have exhausted all their options to increase their weight. Such desires could run counter to ideal health. Our body weight is a little more complex than some of us perceive. The size of our bones or our body frame is a very important parameter used to determine ideal weight. Our height is another fundamental factor and even more significant, is our metabolism. Our metabolism determines the way we utilise what is consumed and the allocation of reserves for weight gain.

To manage our weight efficiently, we need to determine if we are at ideal weight, underweight, overweight or obese. Our desirable weight is considered as the ideal for our health and well-being. Thus, being underweight, overweight or obese is disadvantageous. The good thing is that diet and exercise can be used to correct the anomalies.

That perfect body

Many of us want to lose weight so that we can look better. However, only a very small percentage of the population has the genetic make-up for a perfect body. Attaining the perfect body is extremely difficult. It is even more difficult to maintain it, unless we are very committed to a vigorous lifetime of exercising and a strict diet.

It is prudent to try to maintain a desirable body weight and avoid too many fluctuations because of the increased risks for cardiovascular disease. Quick weight loss should be replaced with a slow progressive weight-loss programme. This gives our body the opportunity to make the necessary adaptations more successfully and efficiently.

If we follow the guidelines that have been recommended in past articles, we can face the numerous challenges of the New Year with confidence. We have been exposed to a variety of exercises and physical activities that we can use to make each exercising exciting and look forward to the New Year with renewed enthusiasm.

Dr Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at Holiday Hills Research Center; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.