In the last few decades, obesity has become a major concern for millions of people. Not only does it affect us physically leading to life threatening diseases, but also mentally.

Self esteem and confidence are often a key to success in many areas of our lives, however being overweight may make us feel isolated and prevent from takings steps you would otherwise.

Arising slowly from the mid-1950s, when people started using cars more and move less, it is now the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. It’s a common problem in the UK (as it is in many developed nations) that’s estimated to affect around 1 in every 4 adults and around 1 in every 5 children aged 10 to 11.

In this article I would like to look into people’s perceptions to what is normal.

What is normal to you? Is, say, size 12 (UK) normal or is it overweight? Is size 6 (UK) normal or is it underweight?

Many perceptions come from different cultural backgrounds. What’s normal in one country would be seen as overweight in another. Most people, here in the UK, are likely to perceive size 12 as normal, however when looking at BMI for an average height person it would be overweight.

Health, weight loss, dieting and being a certain size are one of the most talked about topics on TV and social media platforms. Discussing someone’s size is a touchy subject to approach nowadays, but has being careful had an affect on our perceptions leading to health issues and irreversible diseases? As much as we appreciate that women are beautiful of all shapes and sizes, by promoting that philosophy are we in danger of being slightly delusional about our health, looking our best and living to our full potential? All in all, there seems to be a contradiction with what has been said in the media and reality when looking at the BMI calculator.

It is easier to say that you should be happy in your own skin and don’t pay any attention to anyone else, and be positive and so on, however I encourage you to be mindful and check your BMI, it may take you by surprise.

If you are on the journey to losing weight and having more energy, your daily water intake should be half of your body weight (in pounds) divided by 2 and that should be the amount to drink in ounces (for example, 150lb = 75oz of water [or 2.21l]).

On another note, of course, it is your body, your life choices and you are the only one knowing what you want to achieve and how you want to feel, but that should not stop you from stepping back, looking outside of the box and deciding what normal is to you.