Having too much or too little body fat can pose serious risks to your health. While the scale may be the most popular way to assess how fat you are, your body mass index, or BMI, may be a more accurate measurement.
BMI Basics
A BMI measurement estimates how much fat you have based on your weight and height. Both men and women can calculate their BMI by dividing their weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. Generally, the higher your BMI, the higher your health-related risks.
Risks of High BMI
Carrying around excess fat, especially around the middle, puts adult men at greater risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, insulin resistance and sleep apnea, warns MayoClinic.com.
BMI Ranges
Each BMI measurement falls under one of four categories, including underweight, normal, overweight and obese. Men with BMIs below 18.5 are considered underweight. BMIs from 18.5 to 24.9, 25 to 29.9, and above 30 are considered normal, overweight and obese respectively. The categorizations are the same for men or women.
Shortcomings
BMI may be a more helpful measurement than your scale weight, but it has several shortcomings. This measurement cannot determine whether your excess pounds come from muscle, fat or other body tissues. Men tend to carry more muscle and less fat than women, so a man with the same BMI as a woman will typically have less fat. Similarly, athletic or extremely muscular men may have the same BMI and less fat than a much larger man with the same scale weight. Your BMI also does not tell you where your fat is in your body. Men are more likely than women to store fat around the abdomen, and this type of visceral fat is a greater health concern than fat stored in other parts of your body.
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