Health and fitness calculators

Health calculators provide key information regarding some important health factors.

Target heart rate calculator: Your target heart rate is 60-80 per cent of the maximum your heart can beat. Says Dr Ashutosh Shukla, Consultant, Artemis Health Institute, Gurgaon: “Exercise that doesn’t raise your heart rate significantly won’t contribute significantly to cardiovascular fitness.” Visit http://www.humana-.com/webmd/targetheartrate.asp for more information.

Daily protein requirement calculator: Says Dr Shukla: “To calculate your daily protein requirement, just follow this simple equation: body weight in kilogrammes=grams of protein per day. Example: if you weigh 65 kg, your daily protein requirement is 65 gm.”

Daily calorie requirement calculator: Says Dr Shukla: “Calorie requirement depends upon the body weight, age and occupation of a person. The tool can be extremely useful if you are trying to stick to a healthy fitness programme.” To check out your requirement, log on to http://www.abbott.com.sg/iDecide/Tools/tools_daily_calorie_requirement. asp.

Body Mass Index (BMI): Says Dr Meenakshi Jain, Consultant, Max Hospital, Noida: “BMI is one of the simplest and most accurate tools to measure the amount of excess body fat and the associated risks of carrying this.” BMI expresses the relationship between height and weight. BMI equals a person’s weight in kilogrammes divided by height in metres squared. A person with a BMI of 18-25 is considered to be at a healthy weight. Those with a BMI of 25-30 is considered to be overweight. A BMI over 30 is considered obese. BMI=weight in kg/(height in metres).

—Manu Kaushik