Body Mass Index (BMI): Your Indicator for Obesity
Description
This article is from the Health Articles series.
Body Mass Index (BMI): Your Indicator for Obesity
BMI is not a car manufacturer, but these three initials can possibly improve your life. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a numeric measure that helps doctors and patients determine if you are overweight for your height. Despite its strong correlation with obesity, according to a recent study most people are not aware of their BMI score and physicians are equally guilty of not informing their patients about it. According to a study conducted by Yankelovitch Partners, 60 percent of the populations sampled were not aware of their BMI score and only one out of four doctors routinely screen people for their Body Mass Index.
What Is The Importance Of The BMI?
Not only does the BMI help determine if one is overweight, the higher the number the more risk a person has of developing complications from obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can cause serious health problems later in life.
BMI Values | ||
| Underweight | <18.5 | |
| Normal | 18.5-24.9 | |
| Overweight | 25.0-29.9 | |
| Obesity | 30.0-39.9 | |
| Severe Obesity | >40.0 | |
How Do I Calculate My BMI?
The Body Mass Index is calculated using your height and weight in the following formula: pounds/(your height in inches)2x 703.1; or your weight in kilograms/(your height in meters)2. This number can then be applied to the following table:BMI = Weight (kgs) / (Height in meters)2
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