The body mass index is an equation used by health professionals to assess your health risks. Rather than considering your weight in isolation, the BMI evaluates the relationship between your weight and your height.

While it can be a useful tool, it’s not perfect and not suitable for everyone. For example, it’s not useful if you are pregnant, a body builder, under the age of 18 and less useful for some ethnic backgrounds or for those over the age of 65.

This is why at Jenny Craig our trained consultants use your BMI as a starting point. They also take careful measurements of your waist, another good tool to assess your health risk. Plus they always consider your individual goals and take into account your lifestyle to help you achieve them.

BMI categories are based on those classified by the World Health Organisation. At Jenny Craig, our clients’ health is our number one priority. Suitability for enrolment of individuals on the Jenny Craig program is based around the expert recommendations of our Accredited Practising Dietitians.

If your BMI falls above the recommended range, Jenny Craig can help. At Jenny Craig the focus is not simply on losing weight but on being your best possible self, using meal plans and physical activity to ensure you can achieve your optimum health.

Jenny Craig has been helping members for over 30 years lose weight across Australia and New Zealand. Your personal Consultant will guide you through your weigh loss journey, design a menu plan for you and help you lose and manage your weight successfully.

At your first visit your Jenny Craig Consultant will assess your weight, using your BMI and other measurements as a starting point. They will then discuss your weight loss goals based on what you want to achieve. Your dedicated personal Consultant is trained to help you overcome the challenges you may face when striving to achieve a healthy weight and will provide support throughout your journey.

On the Jenny Craig program you will receive guidance, weight loss meal plans designed by Accredited Practising Dietitians, advice and encouragement, inspiring you to learn more about your weight and your health, and to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Being above the recommended weight can put your health at risk. These risk factors include cardiovascular disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.

Even small amounts of weight loss can help to avoid or reduce these risks and provide benefits for your physical and mental wellbeing.

Also as your improved eating habits begin to improve your BMI you will feel more energised which in turn makes it easier to enjoy being physically active, which can aslo help with your overall wellbeing.

The recommended BMI to reduce health risks associated with excess weight is considered to be between 18.5 and 24.9 and is the same for men and women. But remember, this range is an estimate and individual factors such as age and the amount of muscle you have may have an effect your BMI.

A BMI of between 25.0 and 29.9 is categorised as overweight and a BMI of 30.0 and above is classified as obese. If this is you, don’t worry – Jenny Craig will work with you to achieve a healthy BMI and a healthy body you can be proud of.

As we age our metabolic rate (the speed that we burn energy) slows down. Also as life become less hectic and current or past injuries take their toll on the body we may start to take on a more sedentary lifestyle. This combined with a lower metabolic rate can increase your BMI. But with sustained, regular physical activity at a suitable level and opting for a nutritionally balanced, portion-controlled diet, getting older doesn’t have to mean gaining weight.

The time it takes to reduce your body weight is an individual thing. The Jenny Craig weight loss program is designed to achieve a measured and safe approach to weight loss.

Being active is a key component to sustained weight loss and improving your BMI. At Jenny Craig we encourage increased physical activity, which may be anything active that you enjoy doing that is effectively burning kilojoules and helping you to lose weight.

It’s important to find activities you enjoy doing, because it means you are likely to make it a habit. It’s also good to include some stretching in your routine. If you are likely to forget to stretch after your gym session, big walk or jog, perhaps try joining a class which has a focus on stretching could help.