As the BMI gets higher, this figure can become misleading, as BMI does not take into account muscle. But for most people, keeping below 25 means that you are not overweight. Falling below 18 means that you are underweight.

So, what steps can we take to attain and maintain a healthy weight? At the most basic level, eating less, eating healthily and exercising is all that is required. However, as we all know, it is often hard to follow this advice for one reason or another!

As suspected, it sounds like it is not based on science, just one man’s “idea” about how people can lose weight and be healthy.

However, eating a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables (but not so much that you consume many calories than you need) is a healthy option. You need protein too, so I personally feel that any diet that encourages a young woman to avoid meat, fish and eggs is not a good idea – plus these are the foods that help us to feel full for longer. The key at to losing weight and staying healthy is to avoid junk food, processed food, excess sugar, saturated fat and too many high GI carbs (bread, cakes, baked foods, white rice, pasta etc.).

Do you exercise? This is really key at your age. Your body needs plenty of nutrients at the moment as you are still developing, and over the next few years your body will need even more for healthy growth. By exercising you not only make your body fitter and stronger, it means that you can consume more food without putting on weight, i.e, it makes you healthier.