Your body mass index is a calculation of your body composition based on weight and height. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared then multiplied by 703. Once you have figured your BMI, you can determine whether your weight is underweight, healthy, overweight or obese.
Obesity-related health risks include high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and diabetes, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. The body mass index -- usually referred to as BMI -- is a medical calculation...
According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 33.8 percent of American adults are obese, judging by their measure on the body mass index, or BMI scale. BMI is a quick, convenient tool that health ...
Obesity is a serious health condition that can be caused genetically, as well as by overeating and a lack of physical exercise. Too much body weight can add stress to the body and cause medical problems such as type 2 diabetes,...
As obesity grows at epidemic levels, the CDC uses many of its resources to monitor and stem the tide against growing rates of overweight and obesity. The CDC promotes the use of the body mass index, or BMI, to screen people who...
The term obesity is often used synonymously with overweight when, in fact, the terms refer to two different conditions. Clinically speaking, obesity refers to having too much body fat. BMI is an assessment used by doctors to sc...
The body mass index became the medical community's primary way of measuring obesity in the 1980s. The BMI became popular because its formula for determining the correlation between height and weight was the most accurate height...
Derived from measurements of your height and weight, BMI is used to help classify your level of disease risk. According to the National Institutes of Health, severe or extreme obesity is reflected by a BMI of 40 or greater and...
The body mass index measure, or BMI, is a common screening tool used to assess your weight-related health risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. Your BMI is calculated using your height and ...
The BMI system consists of four categories--underweight, normal, overweight and obese. If your BMI falls into the classification of obesity, you should understand what that might mean for your health.
Patients who are super obese are at a significantly higher risk of serious obesity-related health conditions. If you fall into the super-obese or morbidly obese categories, talk to your doctor about resources available to you f...
One third of the American adult population is obese. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index---BMI---of 30 or greater. The term obesity refers to excess weight...
Body mass index (BMI) measures your weight relative to your height. This number can provide more information about your health and body fat levels than your weight in pounds. Your BMI value offers a good starting point for disc...
According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics, one-third of American adults are obese. Being overweight or obese increases your risk of certain health problems, such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Your ...
When a person's BMI is above the healthy range of numbers, health risks increase. If the person loses weight, the BMI number will fall, and some of the obesity-related health risks will be reduced.
Though BMI isn't an exact science, it gives you a good sense of where you stand on the weight spectrum--underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese. BMI is expressed as a number, and obesity is defined as anything over 30.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute categorize a BMI of 30 and over as obese. BMI is calculated by taking your weight in pounds divided by your height in inches square...
Along with waist circumference, it is a key measure used by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) to determine obesity and overweig...
According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults worldwide, and at least 300 million of them are obese. Working out your Body Mass Index, or BMI, is one of the first steps to assessing...
Both the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) use BMI, along with waist circumference and certain risk factors, to assess overweight and obesity. The formula f...
