Maintaining a healthy body weight is important to overall health and body function. Excess weight is associated with a variety of conditions, including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Diet is an important factor in weight maintenance. A healthy diet includes a variety of balanced complex carbohydrates like vegetables, protein, such as lean meats, as well as fruits and grains. Body mass index is a method of determining excess weight.
Identification
There is no denying that Americans are bigger than at any point in history. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that as of 2010, 68 percent of American adults are considered overweight or obese. According to the CDC, body mass index or BMI, is a number calculated by your weight and height, used to determine your degree of body fat.
Process
Though it is not a diagnostic tool, your BMI is used as a screening tool for medical professionals to help identify possible weight problems. Once your BMI is calculated, your health provider will conduct other assessments to determine if you have excess weight and how this excess weight might affect your health. They may evaluate your family history, physical performance and diet, then make recommendations on how to reduce your BMI to decrease your risk of health problems associated with excess weight.
Significance
The CDC considers calculating BMI one of the best methods for determining overweight and obesity in the population. It is also easy for clinicians to use since only height and weight are needed. This allows your health provider to compare your height and weight to the population. Other methods of determining body fat include using calipers to measure skin-fold thickness and underwater weighing. Another measurement tool sends small, harmless electric impulses through the body, since fat and muscle are penetrated at different speeds, this helps determine body fat ratio. However, according to the CDC, these methods are not always reliable, making BMI standard for use.
Benefits of Healthy BMI
BMI is measured by your height and weight and is different for men and women. For example, for women, a BMI of less than 25 is considered healthy, depending on height. Maintaining a healthy BMI has many health benefits. According to the American Heart Association, maintaining a healthy weight is associated with fewer joint and muscle pains, better regulations of fluid and blood pressure, reduced burden on the heart and circulatory system and reduced risk for heart disease.
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