4. Reduced urine output or dark urine. Did you know that up to 200 litres of water is passed through your kidneys daily? Without a fresh supply of water for kidneys to filter waste products out of blood, your urine will become darker.

5. Furry tongue or bad breath. If you don't have enough water passing through mouth to wash away food particles, bacteria can proliferate and result in that 'furry' feeling or bad breath.

6. Skin. Your skin should feel elastic. When you pinch skin on back of your hand it should snap back instantly.

Some people trying to control their weight, drink bottles of diet sodas each day. Often these beverages contain caffeine, which is a diruretic causing body to excrete water. In fact net result may be dehydration. So if you are a 'heavy diet-soda' drinker, and you recognise these symptoms, you may be able to improve your health by simply drinking 6 to 8 glasses a day of pure, fresh water!

Overweight people tend to have higher blood pressure and higher blood cholesterol, which are major risk factors for heart attack and other blood vessel disease. Being overweight can contribute to problems in joints, and is also associated with other serious diseases such as diabetes.

How you tell if you are overweight

As we are all different shapes and sizes, there is not one recommended weight for your height. Instead there is a range of weights that are healthy for your height. One way to check your weight is to calculate your Body Mass Index or BMI.

Your BMI is a ratio or comparison of your height and weight expressed in a number. To find out your BMI you need to divide your weight (measured in kg) by your height (measured in m) squared. If you do not know your measurements in metric system you can find any number of BMI calculators online that will do conversion for you into empirical measures. One such calculator is at website listed below.

The accepted definitions of weight categories by BMI are:

Underweight - BMI less than 18.5 Healthy weight - BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 Overweight - BMI equal to or greater than 25 and up to 29.9 Obese - BMI equal to or greater than 30

These BMI values only apply to adults aged 18 years and over and are based on studies of Caucasian populations. Therefore, they are not applicable to children and adolescents and they may not be appropriate for people of other cultural backgrounds.

Another way to check your weight is to measure your waist circumference, using a tape measure. This gives you an idea of whether you have a lot of fat stored around your middle. Waist circumferences associated with increased health risk are:

For men Waist circumference greater than 94cm For women Waist circumference greater than 80cm

Being a healthy weight can help:

- improve blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood glucose levels - reduce your risk of other health related problems - improve self confidence and self esteem - make it easier to be physically active.

If you are obese or overweight…try not to gain additional weight. This will help you in years to come as people tend to increase weight with age. Better still look after your body and follow a healthy lifestyle incorporating a nutritious, delicious, health enhancing weight loss program. Just by losing 10 pounds you can significantly improve your overall health.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kim Beardsmore, B.Sc. (Biochemistry) is a wellness consultant. To see what you can do to take control of your weight or to maximize your best personal shape, visit her website at: http://leanmachine.org/?refid=overweight-23705

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: