BMI or Body Mass Index is a measurement of body composition determined by assessing a person's height and weight and then completing a simple calculation to find where the person falls on a predetermined scale. The BMI scale charts a person's body composition into categories of underweight (a score of 18.4 or less), normal weight (18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9) and obese (30 and above). While the BMI scale can be inaccurate with populations like athletes and bodybuilders, it is quite accurate when used for the general population.
Cost Effective
Large organizations, physicians, dieticians, personal trainers, and other health care professionals use BMI because it is a cost effective way to assess a person's body composition. The only pieces of equipment needed are a scale and a tool to measure height. In contrast, the full body X-ray used in Dual X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA) and the pool and chair needed for hydrostatic weighing, can cost thousands of dollars and require a specialist who has been trained to operate the equipment.
Simple
Because BMI is a simple measurement of height and weight, it is completely non-invasive. Skin fold tests require a practitioner to pinch a subject's body fat in up to 13 places. This can be rather embarrassing for some, regardless of whether or not they are overweight. Hydrostatic weighing (considered the gold standard of body composition measurements) requires the participant to expire all the air in their lungs and stay underwater long enough for someone to read the measurement. Many times this method is not feasible because the participant simply cannot stay underwater long enough to get a reading.
Another important consideration is that anyone can calculate BMI. All it takes is an accurate height and weight measurement. The equation is your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches squared and then multiplied by 703. As evidenced by the equation, the scale makes no difference for gender, age, or race.
Quick
Calculating BMI is time effective and is an easy way for anyone to track the changes in their body composition over time.
Additionally, the CDC has been charting obesity rates in America for decades now. The only realistic way for them to conduct these surveys is by using the BMI scale. Attempting to track the body composition using any other method would simply take too long. Because calculating BMI takes only a minute or two, this is the ideal manner for the CDC and other organizations to track body composition.
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