All You Need to Know about BMI

Posted on: Feb 2, 2022 | | Written by:

All You Need to Know about BMI

Published on February 1, 2022. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Body Mass Index, commonly known as BMI, is most often used to determine if you are within the normal weight range. A high amount of body fat can increase the risk of developing multiple health issues. On the other hand, being underweight can also have an adverse impact on health. Therefore, health professionals commonly use the BMI value to determine, evaluate and diagnose health risk and disease progression. Read on to know all about it.

Calculating BMI

You can easily calculate your BMI using the following formula:

BMI = kg/m²

kg = your weight in kilograms

m² = your height in metres squared

If you know your height and weight, you can work out your BMI yourself or you can use any of the many free online calculators that are available.

However, it should be noted that the BMI for athletes, especially body builders and footballers, pregnant women, the elderly and young children, should not be calculated. This is because the weight of such individuals can be affected by low or high muscle mass. For example, athletes have a high muscle mass, whereas muscle mass in the elderly and young children is low. The elderly usually lose muscle as they age, and young children are still in the growth phase.So, their BMI will be inaccurate or lower than expected. During pregnancy, the composition of a woman’s body changes, and hence, the BMI reading will be inaccurate.

Healthy BMI ranges

After you have finished calculating your BMI, you then need to interpret the findings. If you are an adult over the age of 20 years, you can use a BMI Index chart to understand your BMI value. This is a standard interpretation that can be used for both men and women.

According to this chart, if you have a BMI that is less than 18.5, you are underweight.

If your BMI falls between 18.5 and 24.9,you have a normal or healthy weight.

In case you have a BMI between 25.0 and 29.9,you are overweight and if your BMI is equal to or more than 30.0,it means you are suffering from obesity.

It should be noted that the interpretation of BMI values for children and teens will depend on their age and sex. This is because the amount of fat in the body changes with age and differs depending on gender. Hence, although the BMI of children can be calculated using the same formula, the scores are interpreted differently.

Doctors usually use a chart that is sex and age specific, to determine if a child is within the healthy BMI range. The BMI for children and teenagers is known as BMI for age and is expressed in a percentile format. The classification is as follows:

Less than the 5th percentile – Underweight

5th to less than 85th percentile – Healthy

85th to less than 95th percentile – Overweight

More than 95th percentile – Obese

For example, if a child has a BMI in the 60th percentile, it means that 60% of children of the same age and gender who were measured had a lower BMI.

It should be noted that the body frame of the child and puberty can affect BMI values. So, for any queries or doubts regarding your child’s BMI value,it is best to talk to a doctor.

Conclusion

Although, BMI is an easy and inexpensive method to determine if you are within a normal weight range or at a higher risk of developing health conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, it does have certain limitations. For example, even if two people have the same BMI value, the amount of body fat for each might be different. Also, women usually have more body fat compared to men at the same value. Hence, in these cases, if the amount of body fat needs to be determined, then another tool might be required. If you wish to know more about BMI or how to interpret its value, speak to a doctor or a healthcare professional.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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