Body Mass Index (BMI)
Which Category Are You In?

Body Mass Index is a formula that helps calculate what weight category we fall under.

Though it really doesn’t measure a person’s body fat, it is used to indicate whether a person is overweight.

It has become a very popular and helpful tool for health and weight loss purposes.

The formula uses your height and weight to give you your BMI which places you in one of the categories below that determines whether an adult is underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.

The higher the BMI (if in the obese category) the greater the risk of developing obesity related health problems.


Once you know your BMI you will be in one of the following categories:

Problems associated with obesity can include a higher risk for developing diabetes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, stroke, and other health issues.

The most common causes of obesity are poor diet, poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Of course there are other factors that can cause obesity which an individual may have no control over, such as thyroid disorders, certain prescription drugs and food allergies are just to name a few.

As most weight loss tools go, it is important to realize that these calculations are only an estimated value and may have limitations.

For instance it may not accurately assess certain individuals including:

Seniors
Body Mass Index doesn’t measure up for seniors because the calculation does not differentiate between fat and other tissues such as muscle and bone, which tend to decrease with age for some seniors.

Men and Women Differ
The more accurate BMI calculators also want to know your gender as well as your height and weight. This is because men and women have different percentages of what is considered to be healthy amounts of body fat.

For healthy women fat can make up as much as 25 percent of their body weight, where as 17 percent is a healthy percentage for men. This is because a women’s body is designed differently for pregnancy and nursing.

Muscular Athletes
BMI calculations for muscular athletes may be inaccurate because they don't take into account that muscle weighs more than fat.

Children
For children and teens the calculation is a little more involved and also considers sex and age because the amount of body fat differs between girls and boys and also changes with age. Use a BMI calculator for kids and teens in this case.


Calculate Your Body Mass Index

After checking out many online sites that provided BMI calculators we came across one that is fun and easy to use. Hope you like it. Click here for the BMI calculator.

For those of you who wish to manually calculate BMI we have provided the formula below.

For English Units: BMI = (lbs/inches squared X 703)

Weight (lb) / (Height (in) x Height (in)) x 703


If you have any concerns regarding BMI for you or a family member please talk with your physician or health care provider.

Wishing you health and happiness

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