The Body Mass Index (BMI) was designed to provide people with a simple way of determining how their weight relates to their height and other people of the same height. It's a great starting point, but the BMI is somewhat flawed in its simplicity. It doesn't account for how much of your body is muscle vs. fat. As a result, many of the world's top athletes are defined as obese due to the weight of their muscles. Still, it's very effective at determining whether you might be unhealthy and giving you a starting point for making lifestyle changes to benefit your health.
Step 1
Find your height in inches and multiply it against itself. For example, if your height is 6 feet, that is 72 inches, so you multiply 72 x 72.
Step 2
Find your weight in pounds and divide it by the number found in Step 1.
Step 3
Multiply the number in Step 2 by 703. The result is your BMI number. The formula you have used is BMI = (W / H^2) x 703, where W is weight in pounds and H is height in inches.
Step 4
Place your number on the BMI scale to determine where you sit in relation to the rest of the public. A number below 18.5 means you are underweight; anything between 18.5 and 25 is considered normal. Numbers between 25 and 30 mean you're slightly obese. If you score 30 or above, you are obese, and if you rank higher than 40, you are morbidly obese.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
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