Body Mass Index (BMI)Body Mass Index (BMI) is a tool used for screening persons and populations with respect to general levels of overweight. BMI is calculated with only two inputs: Height and Weight. The formulas for calculating BMI are: Weight (Kg) ÷ [Height(M)]2 Weight (lb) ÷ [Height(in)]2 X 703 This provides a linear comparison of weight to height and does not take any other factors into consideration. I like to think of BMI as a “rough cut” tool that helps me to understand where on the overweight scale I am at. It is one of many factors that doctors can use to determine my overall risk of encountering obesity related disorders. Combined with the other risk factors, BMI can help people understand better where they may need to focus their health related concerns. I found a very interesting tool on one website that you can calculate your Body Mass Index with and it factors your age and gender to also provide you with a percentile versus population for your age and gender. My BMI is about 34.5 and I fall at about the 90th percentile for my age. That means my BMI is higher than 90% of men my age! Wow what an eye opener! Currently the basic interpretation of Body Mass Index, for adults, is >25 is overweight and >30 is obese. So, yes, I am currently OBESE…I hope this HCG diet turns out to be my silver bullet!
• Since BMI is only a height versus weight ratio there can be errors in blindly classifying someone as overweight or not. For instance, a body builder will have a higher BMI but this is due to the higher muscle mass, not higher body fat. Evidently there are many other factors that must be considered when trying to classify someone as overweight or obese • Given the other factors that render BMI less accurate, it is still a fairly accurate tool. Actually, I found one place where a formula was used to calculate body fat% using BMI and then compared to the body fat% obtained with other methods such as the skin fold technique. Adult Body Fat % = (1.20 X BMI) + (0.23 X Age) – (10.8 X Gender) – 5.4 (Gender value is 1 for males and 0 for females) My calculation is as follows: (1.20 X 34.5) +(0.23 X 37) – (10.8 X 1) – 5.4 (41.4) + (8.51) – (10.8) – 5.4 = 42.22 % Now, if I were ever to need a motivation to get back into shape… This means I am carrying around over 90 pounds of FAT!!!
• Another interesting theory is the general level of “attractiveness” versus BMI. The idea being that people are less attractive to their opposite sex when they have significantly low or high BMI. • To use BMI as an indicator of potential health risks, the following (not all inclusive) list of risk factors are also considered. Having 2 or more risk factors combined with a BMI of >25 calls for weight loss: o High blood pressure o High LDL cholesterol o Low HDL cholesterol o High triglycerides o High blood glucose (high blood sugar) o Family history of early heart disease o Tobacco use o Sedentary lifestyle
There is much more to Body Mass Index than what I have here. This exercise helped me to get a better understanding of how severely overweight I really am. I also learned how many of the risk factors I also possess and it really opened my eyes. I will be heading into a weight loss program armed with a bit more motivation now!
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