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Q: I am 28 years old, weigh 140lbs., and my height is 6' 1". I am trying to gain about 10 to 15 pounds. I lift weights twice a week and run three times per week. What would be the most healthy and safe way to gain weight, besides the obvious - eat more? Should I try to increase my carbohydrate intake? What is a recommended diet?
A: Ideal body weight can be estimated by means of an empirical rule referred to as the Hamwi method. Essentially it may be summarized as follows: ideal body weight for a male is 106 pounds for the first 5 feet plus 6 pounds for each additional inch. For females, ideal body weight is 100 pounds for the first 5 feet plus 5 pounds for each additional inch. Energy needs for the body are calculated from an estimate of the basal energy requirement (the energy requirement for the body at rest) and an activity factor to account for the level of activity and various medical conditions. To estimate the basal energy requirement one makes use of an equation which is empirically derived. This equation states that the basal energy requirement for a male, in Kilocalories, is 66 plus 13.7times the weight in Kilograms plus 5times the height in centimeters minus 6.8times the age in years. For a female, the basal energy requirement, in Kilocalories, is 655 plus 9.6times the weight in Kilkograms plus 1.85times the height in centimeters minus 4.7 times the age in years. Average energy expended by an individual engaged in a certain activity depends on the type of factivity and the weight of the individual. For example, for light activity, this energy varies from 73 Kilocalories per hour for an individual weghing 120 pounds to 99 Kilocalories per hour for an individual weighing 220 pounds. The easiest rough method to determine the number of Kilocalories required by a healthy individual is to provide 25 Kilocalories per Kilogram for weight loss, 30 Kilocalories per Kilograms for weight maintenance, and 35 Kilocalories per Kilogram for weight gain.
Protein is required for growth and to maintain body structure and function. Sufficient amount of protein is to be ingested daily in order to replace essential aminoacids lost through protein breakdown. Essential aminoacids are those aminoacids that the body cannot produce and, hence, must be ingested. On a diet without proteins the average male loses about 24 grams of protein. The current recommendation is to ingest 56 grams per day of protein for males and 45 grams of protein per day for females. Regarding the intake of carbohydrates, current recommendation is to ingest 55 to 60% of total calories in the diet. On the other hand, current advice regarding fat ingestion is to decrease its intake to 30% or less of total calories provided.
In your case, by application of the Hamwi method, as described above, your ideal body weight is 184 pounds. Since you weigh 140 pounds, you are about 44 pounds below your ideal body weight. Clearly, your desire to gain weight is to be encouraged. First of all, however, I would strongly encourage you to see your physician in order to exclude possible pathological reasons for your decreased weight. For example, one possible common reason for this is when the thyroid gland overproduces thyroid hormone, which stimulates the body's metabolism. Assuming that no pathological reason is found, the diet you follow to increase your weight should provide you more calories than those you would need for your daily activities. In your case, at a weight of 140 pounds, you need about 1920 Kilocalories to maintain your weight under normal conditions. To increase your weight, you should ingest at least about 2200 Kilocalories, to be distributed among the different food groups ingested as outlined above. It would also be benefitial for you to see a dietitian to precisely indicate for you the various fodds and amounts of each food you should be eating in order to accomplish your goal.
Updated: 06/20/99
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