What is BMI and how to calculate yours to know how healthy or unhealthy you are. Below are important points that will help you in understanding the concept.
What is BMI?
Body Mass Index is a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness which in turn results into a bad health. BMI correlates to direct measures of body =fat such as underwater weighting and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and is considered inexpensive.
How to Calculate BMI
Belgium Statistician Adolphe Quetelet developed the BMI formula around 150 years ago. This is one of the most used health formulas these days.
Metric BMI Formula- Weight(kg)/Height (m)2
With the help of metric system, the weight in kilograms is divided by height which is in metres squared (kg/m2). To convert centimetres in metres, divide height in centimetres by 100.
Another way of calculating BMI is Imperial BMI Formula. This considers pounds and inches and the formula for Imperial BMI is (Weight(lbs.)*703)/Height (inches)2. According to this formula, you have to multiply your weight in pounds by 703 and divide that by your height in inches, squared.
Using BMI
One thing to keep in mind is that BMI is not accurate and thus it cannot be used as a diagnostic tool. There is a lot of weight problem in the adults now-a-days and this tool can be used to check the potential weight problem that can occur. To know more about the BMI and how it is affecting your body, contact a health care provider. Some things that are considered while checking the BMI are:
- The thickness of the skin
- The amount of physical activity you are involved in
- Evaluation of your diet
- Family history of obesity
Benefits of having the right BMI
To have a healthy weight is very important but because of junk food and various soft drinks available in the market, more and more people are becoming obese. Below, I state some of the benefits of having healthy weight:
- Having a healthy weight will eventually decrease joint pains and muscle pains
- You will feel more energised and will have the ability to join more and more outdoor activities
- Having healthy body will improve the regulation of blood in the body saving you from the problem of high blood pressure
- To all the people who are unable to sleep at night, are you obese? Well, according to a study, people who are unhealthy tend to have problems in sleeping. Being healthy will improve your sleep patterns
- One of the most important benefits of having healthy body weight is that it reduces the risk of heart diseases
Excess body weight increases the work of the heart as it has to pump more blood, in turn increasing the chances of high blood pressure. Blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels increase in the body and HDL (good) cholesterol levels lowers. Not just this, excess weight can also make a person diabetic.
A simple change can make your life easier, just make sure you go for a walk for at least 15 minutes a day. Start with 15 minutes and increase the time to 45 minutes. This will not only make you fresh but also decrease your cholesterol and sugar levels.
BMI Categories
It is important that you know the categories of BMI so that you know in which category you belong to.
Underweight: <18.5
Normal weight: 18.5-24.9
Overweight: 25-29.9
Obesity: BMI of 30 or greater
Some Tips
Talk to your doctor to know whether you need to increase or decrease your weight. Your health care provider will evaluate your BMI and waist circumference to advice you the necessary steps. High BMI can increase the risk of heart attack and thus maintaining the right BMI is very important. The good news is a small weight loss(between 5 and 10 percentage of your current weight) will help you lower the risk of various diseases.
