Many experts agree that the best way to achieve ideal body weight is not by consulting an "Ideal Weight" Chart, but by achieving a desirable body fat content. At least one nurition and fitness software product with the ability to track and graph body fat content to help clients lose, gain, or maintain their body weight while improving fitness. This ability is critical if you wish to track your client's body fat content and support a wide variety of body fat measurement devices.

If you've looked at "Ideal Body Weight" charts, you know that there is no consensus as to what "ideal body weight" should be. The charts disagree with each other. In reality, it is actually different for every individual and is dependent on health, body fat content and distribution, musculature, age, activity, metabolism, and a host of other factors that are not simple to measure accurately.

A far more accurate method of determining a good body weight is by analyzing the percent body fat content. The following chart shows some widely accepted percentage body fat contents for men and women.

At least one nutrition and fitness software package allows you to enter your client's current body fat content and desired body fat content. It then calculates the body weight that will make this happen based on twin assumptions: all weight-loss will be in the form of fat and that all weight-gain will take the form of muscle growth. This requires very good nutrition, the correct calorie intake, and a consistent and an appropriate exercise regimen.

At least one nutrition and fitness software package produces a 3-D graph of the desired body fat content "trajectory" vs. your client's actual body fat content. A click of a radio button changes the chart to indicate body weight vs. desired body weight.

These capabilities, used in conjunction with accurate body fat measurements, can help your clients set and reach realistic and appropriate body weight goals. There may even come a time when Americans throw out their bathroom scales in favor of a body fat measuring device.

Note: This description is a feature that is available in at least one nutrition and fitness software product. In some cases, this feature may be available in a variety of nutrition software products. When this feature is available, it will be implemented in different ways by different products. The description provided here is an accurate description of how this feature works in at least one of these products.