What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?
Body Mass Index (BMI) provides an easy way to evaluate your weight in relation to your height. BMI provides a number computed from a person’s weight and height.
Importance of Body Mass Index
BMI is considered to be a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to identify whether your body weight may lead to health problems. A higher BMI indicates higher risk of heart diseases and diabetes whereas a lower BMI could be an indicator of nutritional deficiencies.
Computation of Body Mass Index
BMI can be computed if you know your weight in kilograms and your height in meters. Just divide your weight in kg by the square of the height in m.
BMI = (Weight in kg) / (Height in m x Height in m)
Ranges for Body Mass Index
For adults, BMI below 18.5 kg/m2 indicates underweight and risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis. BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is generally considered to be in the healthy range while a number above 25 is considered to be overweight.
The BMI ranges given above are general indicators and might vary from country to country. For example, in Singapore, the BMI figures were revised in 2005 with an emphasis on health risks instead of weight. Adults whose BMI lies between 18.5 and 22.9 are considered to be at low risk; BMI between 23 and 27.4 indicates moderate risk while those with a BMI of 27.5 and above are at high risk of heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes.
Conclusion
While BMI alone cannot be conclusive, knowing your BMI will give you an early warning to take action to lower your weight to reduce your risk, and to seek medical advice. Other factors like the waist circumference, family history, physical activity level, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption should also be considered in the health assessment.
Body Mass Index (BMI) provides an easy way to evaluate your weight in relation to your height. BMI provides a number computed from a person’s weight and height.
Importance of Body Mass Index
BMI is considered to be a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people and is used to identify whether your body weight may lead to health problems. A higher BMI indicates higher risk of heart diseases and diabetes whereas a lower BMI could be an indicator of nutritional deficiencies.
Computation of Body Mass Index
BMI can be computed if you know your weight in kilograms and your height in meters. Just divide your weight in kg by the square of the height in m.
BMI = (Weight in kg) / (Height in m x Height in m)
Ranges for Body Mass Index
For adults, BMI below 18.5 kg/m2 indicates underweight and risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis. BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is generally considered to be in the healthy range while a number above 25 is considered to be overweight.
The BMI ranges given above are general indicators and might vary from country to country. For example, in Singapore, the BMI figures were revised in 2005 with an emphasis on health risks instead of weight. Adults whose BMI lies between 18.5 and 22.9 are considered to be at low risk; BMI between 23 and 27.4 indicates moderate risk while those with a BMI of 27.5 and above are at high risk of heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes.
Conclusion
While BMI alone cannot be conclusive, knowing your BMI will give you an early warning to take action to lower your weight to reduce your risk, and to seek medical advice. Other factors like the waist circumference, family history, physical activity level, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption should also be considered in the health assessment.
Comments
Thanks for visiting this blog. Yes, I did purchase my own domain name through Blogger.