Do you know that Body Mass Index can help to measure the size of your body?
It combines your weight with your height and the results of BMI measurements can give an idea about your correct weight according to your height.
Moreover, BMI is a screening tool that helps to indicate whether you are underweight or have a healthy weight.
It can also tell about whether you have excess weight or obesity.
Thus, if you have a Body Mass Index, BMI out of a healthy range, then you may risk health concerns.
If you have too much weight, then it can lead to a number of health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other cardiovascular issues.
However, a weight that is too low can increase your chances of malnutrition, osteoporosis, and anemia.
Therefore, your doctor will make suitable recommendations in either case.
Keep on reading to learn more about it.
Body Mass Index in Adults
Calculating your BMI involves measuring your height and body weight.
Metric
In order to calculate BMI in metric units, use the following method:
BMI= kg/m2
Thus, to calculate your BMI as an adult, divide your weight in kilograms, kg by the square of your height in meters,m2.
However, you can also measure your height in centimeters, cm and then divide height in cm by 100 to get height in meters.
Imperial
If you want to use the imperial units, use the formula:
BMI= Ibs x 703/in2
In other words, you can also multiply your weight in pounds, IBS by 703, and then divide your height in inches, squared, in2.
However, if you want to avoid doing these calculations, you can also use a calculator or a chart to find your BMI.
Moreover, you can also use the BMI calculator by the National Institute of Health, NIH.
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BMI Charts and Understanding the Results
You can work out by keeping in view your BMI chart.
For that, you can use the link by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NHLBI.
Locate your height in inches, then look across to find your body weight in pounds.
Then can to the top to see if the results correspond to a normal weight, overweight, or obesity.
The following table shows the standard weight categories that are associated with BMI ranges for adults.
| BMI |
Weight status |
| Below 18.5 |
Underweight |
| 18.5–24.9 |
Healthy |
| 25.0–29.9 |
Overweight |
| 30.0 and above |
Obese |
What do the Results mean?
To understand the results, consider the following:
BMI less than 18.5
A body mass index of less than 18.5 indicates that you are underweight.
Therefore, you need to put some weight on and you will need to ask your doctor or a dietitian for advice.
BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
A body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 indicates that you have a healthy weight.
Thus, you will have to maintain it to lower your risk of developing serious health problems.
25 to 29.9 of BMI
This range indicates that you are slightly overweight and you will need to lose some weight.
This is because, you have to avoid developing any health conditions, therefore, consult your doctor or dietitian for advice.
30 or over BMI
If your BMI is over 30, it indicates that you are heavily overweight.
You may be at risk of developing health conditions if you do not lose excess weight.
Hence, talk to your doctor or a dietitian for advice.
Body Mass Index in Childre and Teens
The body mass index values for adults are not associated with age and are also the same for both genders.
However, body mass index or BMI for children and teens is slightly different.
Moreover, girls and boys develop at different rates and have different amounts of body fat at different ages.
Therefore, BMI measurements during childhood and adolescence take age and gender into consideration.
Doctors and healthcare professionals do not categorize children by healthy weight ranges.
This is because:
- children change with each month
- male and female body types changes at different rates
- as the child grows taller, they change
Thus, they calculate BMI for children and teens in the same way as for adults, by measuring weight and height.
They can also locate the BMI number and the age on a sex-specific BMI-for-age chart.
This indicates whether the child is within the normal healthy range or not.
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BMI charts and Calculators for Children and Teens
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, has developed a calculator that provides BMI and the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile on the CDC growth for children and teens.
You can use the calculator by clicking on this BMI calculator.
Then, you can use the charts to check whether your child has a weight suitable for their age.
You can also click on the following charts:
Understanding the Results
With the help of the following categories, you can understand the results:
| Weight status category |
Percentile range |
| Underweight |
Below the 5th percentile |
| Healthy weight |
5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile |
| Overweight |
85th to less than the 95th percentile |
| Obesity |
Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile |
How do Doctors use BMI?
One of the important things to understand is that Body Mass Index, BMI is not an accurate diagnostic tool
However, it can help to screen for potential weight problems in both adults and children.
If you have a high or low BMI, your doctor or health care professional, with considering factors like:
Skinfold thickness measurements help to find how much fat is in the body.
Evaluation of diet and physical activity.
Discuss any family history of cardiovascular disease and other health conditions.
Recommend other health screening.
Moreover, your doctor and healthcare provider can make a diet plan and recommend exercise based on your results.
Health Risks of Extra Kilos
Excess weight affects your body in the following manner:
It increases how hard the heart has to work, raises blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and triglycerides levels.
Moreover, it lowers high-density lipoproteins HDL pr good cholesterol levels and makes diabetes and other health problems occur.
According to the National Institue of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, NIDDK, carrying extra kilos or weight can increase your chances of developing:
Hypertension or high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, and osteoarthritis.
It also increases the chances of developing sleep apnea and respiratory problems, some types of cancers like endometrial, breast, and colon cancer.
It is important to note that, extra weight in both children and teenagers poses health risks both during childhood and into adulthood.
As with adult obesity, childhood obesity increases the risk of different health problems.
These include cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea.
Moreover, the American Heart Association, AHA, children with high BMA have a higher risk:
- asthma
- Low self-esteem and psychological stress
Benefits of a Healthy Weight
Apart from reducing your risk of developing health conditions, maintaining a healthy weight offers additional benefits.
These are:
- fewer joint and muscle pain
- increase in energy and ability to join in more activities
- improvement in regulation of bodily fluids and blood pressure
- reduction in the burden on the heart and circulatory system
- improving sleep patterns
BMI is a useful tool, however, it cannot identify whether your weight consists of muscle or fat.
For instance, as an athlete, you will have a lot of muscle tissue and a higher BMI than someone who is not active.
This, however, does not mean that an athlete is overweight or unhealthy.
Additionally, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure are more likely to affect you if you have additional fat, which is called Visceral fat.
This fat is present around the middle than the hips.
Other measures of the body size are:
- waist-hip ratio
- waist-to-hip ratio
- body composition.
These help to measure body fat and lean body mass.
Moreover, these systems focus more on the amount of fat you have and its distribution around the body.
Together with body mass index, these additional measurements can help to assess more accurately the health risks that are associated with your weight.
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Limitations to measuring Body Mass Index
BMI shows the picture of your health, however, many health professionals criticize it.
Although it takes into account weight and height, it does not consider other factors.
These factors are the effects of certain diseases on your body like high blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol.
To assess your health, professionals are of the view that there is no single data point.
Doctors need to assess other factors like muscle mass, activity level, and nutrition when determining how healthy or unhealthy you are.
Takeaway
Body mass index, BMI is a useful screening tool for predicting certain health risks, however, you should use it with caution as it does not consider certain other factors like activity levels, body composition.
While it can also be useful for children and teens, it does have its limits.
It can overestimate the amount of body fat in athletes and other individuals with muscular bodies. It can also underestimate the amount of body fat in older adults and other individuals who have lost muscle mass.
BMI of 18.5 to 24.9
This is because:
It also increases the chances of developing 
Additionally, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure are more likely to affect you if you have additional fat, which is called Visceral fat.
To assess your health, professionals are of the view that there is no single data point.