Nutrition

Tips to gain weight

In our society, where there is a large number of overweight and obese people, there is much more emphasis on losing weight rather than gaining weight. People find it hard to accept that thinness (unrelated to anorexia nervosa) is unhealthy. However, it has been shown that people at or above average weight at age 50 live longer than those who are underweight.

What is underweight?

The most widely accepted method to assess weight is body mass index. It determines whether your weight in putting you at risk and is based on your height and weight. The normal weight BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9. Underweight is less than 18.5.

Try our BMI calculator

Be aware that BMI guides can be misleading - BMI tends to relate to fat mass on the body but, for active or more muscular people, BMI may overestimate this. Plus, people of Asian origin tend to carry a higher fat mass for a given BMI, and those of Polynesian origin have a proportionately lower fat mass for a given BMI.)

Being mildly underweight (BMI 18) doesn’t necessarily mean serious health problems, but people who are very thin lack energy reserves, are prone to getting infections and feel the cold because they don’t have a layer of fat to keep them warm. 

If you have experienced unintentional weight loss and you’re always tired you should see a doctor in case you have an underlying health problem. Chances are though if you have been mildly underweight all your life and both parents are too, there’s no illness at the root of your problem. For most people, being underweight means poor nutrition – insufficient kilojoules eaten on a regular basis.