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Body Mass Index explained | The Body Mass Index, or BMI, helps clarify an important distinction between being healthy, overweight, and obese. If you weigh too much, you're obviously overweight. But if you have a very high proportion of body fat, you're obese. Based on your Body Mass Index, your doctor or other health professionals will classify your weight as healthy, overweight, or obese.
The BMI portrays bodyweight comparative with tallness and is
related with complete muscle to fat ratio content in many Adults. In
almost all cases, this implies that the BMI will precisely reflect your weight
and proportion of body fat as a function of your height and weight when
categorizing you as healthy, overweight, or obese.
How to calculate BMI?
Calculating your approximate Body Mass Index is relatively
straightforward, although you'll probably need a calculator just to save time.
To get your BMI, multiply your weight in pounds by 703. Next, divide that
result by your height in inches. Then divide that result by your height in
inches one more time.
For instance, suppose you weigh 180 pounds and are 5 feet 10 inches tall.
Multiply 180 by 703 to get 126,540. Next, divide this by 70
(70 inches is the same as 5' 10") to get 1807.7. Now, divide 1807.7 by 70
one more time. The result -- 25.8-- is your approximate BMI or Body Mass Index.
If the above example sounds you, you might be surprised to learn that you're ever so slightly heavier than your doctor might like. A BMI from 18.5 up to 25 is considered healthy, from 25 up to 30 is classified as overweight, and 30 or higher is obese.
Generally, the higher a person's BMI, the greater the risk for health problems. In addition to causing your BMI to skyrocket, excess body fat is a well-recognized health risk. Men (>40 inches) and Women (>35 inches) waistlines in excess are significantly more in danger for medical conditions like Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, heart disease, liver disease, osteoarthritis, gallstones, certain cancers, including breast, colon, and kidney cancers.
Similar to high BMI a low BMI can also cause a lot of health problems. Insufficient body fat may lead to health issues like bone loss, decreased immune function, heart problems, and anemia.
If you have a low BMI, discuss it with your doctor. If needed, increase the amount of food you eat and reduce the amount of exercise can help you gain weight. A dietitian can also help you learn how to gain weight in a healthy way.
As a rule of thumb, this one likewise has its special case. Bodybuilders, for instance, frequently have a Body Mass Index above 25 and sometimes even above 30. For this situation, in any case, the higher BMI mirrors the way that bodybuilders have more muscle mass without having more fat.
Lastly, there's still just a single sure approach to bring down your BMI in case you're overweight or Obese. Eat less and exercise more. A dietitian can teach you which foods to eat and how much food you should eat in order to lose weight. Your body will burn a greater number of calories than you eat and your Body Mass Index will go down after some time.
We believe this article helped you get some information in regards to BMI. Thanks for investing your energy in this article and kindly remember to share it as it might help someone. Have a great day!
Credits: Image by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
