Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a tool used to determine if an individual is at a healthy weight. Men should aim to keep their BMI within the healthy range of 18.5 to 24.9. However, if you are a muscular individual, BMI may not be the best indicator of body fatness.
What is BMI?
BMI is a calculation used to assess an individual's weight in regard to being at a healthy weight, or being under or overweight. Your height and body weight are used to determine your BMI. BMI is flawed in that it does not directly measure body fat percentage. However, it usually correlates well with other measurements of body fat.
What is it Used For?
BMI is used as tool by health practitioners on patients they feel may be at a unhealthy weight. BMI is used to identify weight problems in both children and adults of both genders. If a patient has a high or low BMI, it will alert physicians of a health risks or underlying conditions. Further tests, such as skin-fold thickness or diet evaluations, can be conducted to fully evaluate a patient's condition.
BMI Calculation
BMI uses your height and weight in its calculation. To find your BMI, take your weight in kilograms and divide by your height in meters squared.
Without converting to metric units, you can find your BMI by using the same calculation with pounds and inches, and then multiply that number by 703.
BMI Results
BMI results are divided into different ranges including underweight, healthy, overweight and obese. These ranges are the same regardless of gender. For adults, a BMI under 18.5 is considered underweight; from 18.5 to 24.9 is normal; and from 25.0 to 29.9 is categorized as overweight. A BMI over 30 is considered obese and is a serious health concern.
Men should try to keep their BMI within the healthy range of 18.5 to 24.9.
Problems with BMI
BMI is a good indicator of a healthy or an unhealthy weight. However, it is not perfect. The main problem is when it comes to muscle mass. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increased muscular mass will cause a healthy person, at a healthy weight, to weigh more. This causes an elevated BMI, even if they are not overweight.
This problem shows up more often for men, because men usually carry more muscle on their bodies than women. Therefore, a muscular man who has a BMI slightly above the healthy range should not be considered overweight.
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