Your body fat mass, or body mass index known as BMI, is a figure that is calculated using your height and weight. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, your BMI is considered an accurate indication of how much fat is on your body.
It is commonly used as an indicator of body fat because it is easy to perform. BMIs that qualify you as overweight or obese may put you at an increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening medical conditions such as stroke and heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.
Step 1
Weigh yourself on a reliable scale and either take note or remember your weight in pounds.
Step 2
Measure yourself if you do not know how tall you are.
Step 3
Divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared using a calculator. For example, if you are 190 pounds and 5 feet, 11 inches tall, you should divide 190 by 5041.
Step 4
Multiply the total from the above calculation by 703. Using the above example, multiply 0.0378 by 703. The resulting total is your body mass index, in this case of 26.6.
Step 5
Compare your BMI to the charts outlining a healthy weight. According to the CDC, BMIs of less than 18.5 are considered underweight. BMIs between 18.5 and 24.9 are normal. BMIs between 25 and 29.9 are overweight and BMIs greater than 30 are obese.
For a handy BMI calculator provided by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, see Resource 1.
Tips and Warnings
- The correlation between actual body fat and BMI varies slightly depending on your gender, race and age. For example, women typically have more body fat than men who have the same BMI, according to the CDC. Your BMI is not the only indicator of potential health risks caused by obesity. Your waist circumference and any increased risk factors you have for medical conditions associated with obesity--such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure--can also predispose you to dangerous health conditions such as heart disease, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Calculator
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