The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that as of 2009, over two-thirds of the people living in the United States had a BMI that indicated they were overweight. This epidemic of obesity is complicit in causing deadly health consequences across the nation, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. A healthy BMI score is a tool you can use to determine whether you are maintaining a healthy weight in relationship to your height.
Determining BMI
BMI, or body mass index, is regarded as fairly reliable in revealing the proportion of your body weight that is composed of fat. To determine your BMI, you need to determine your weight in kilograms and height in meters, or your weight in pounds and height in inches. Plug those numbers into this formula to determine your BMI:
weight ÷ (height)2=BMI
In other words, your BMI is equal to your weight divided by your height squared.
Interpreting BMI
After determining your BMI, you can use it to find out what category your BMI falls under. A healthy BMI score is in the range of 18.5 to 24.9. If your BMI is less than 18.5, you are considered underweight. If your BMI falls between 25.0 and 29.9, you are considered overweight. Anyone with a BMI above 30 is considered obese.
Contradictions
BMI isn't infallible. You can be a robust, muscle-bound athlete and yet have a BMI that indicates that you're overweight. Muscle weighs more than fat, yet takes up less space. So if you're building muscle while losing fat, you may see your BMI rise while noticing that your jeans are fitting looser.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that while it is possible for a highly muscular person to fall in the overweight BMI category, a BMI that indicates obesity is nearly always associated with increased body fat.
Other Methods
Alternate forms of body fat measurement such as underwater weighing or bioelectrical impedance measurements provide more precise results but are impractical for home use, often requiring complex equipment and trained technicians to derive a proper result. A sports medicine specialist should be able to assist you in determining an accurate assessment of your level of body fat.
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