Knowing your BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a great way to gauge the overall health of your body in relation to weight. Many people do not even want to bother crunching the numbers themselves because the formula looks difficult and complicated. This is really not the case at all.
If you have ever seen or used an online BMI calculator then you know it will ask you to input your weight and height, and then your BMI number is presented to you along with the number ranges of each category: underweight, healthy weight, slightly overweight, and obese. Learning the BMI formula will show you exactly what the computer does when you push “compute.”
But before you learn how to calculate your Body Mass Index yourself, you need to know what it means exactly. If two people weight the same amount, but one is a foot taller than the other then the taller one could be slim, while the shorter person is considered overweight. This is all your BMI means. It is your weight and height and their relationship to one another. In other words, their ratio. In a nutshell, all you really do is divide your weight with your height. That gives you the number to determine your standing on the BMI scale.
The following are the details on how to find your BMI. First you have to figure out your weight measurment in kilograms squared and your height measurement in meters. If you don’t know how to do that, there are many programs on the internet that will do it for you. Afterwards, take your weight and divide by how tall you are. The answer you get is your BMI. Let’s use an example with actual numbers. The height is 160cm and the weight is 60kg. 160cm equals 1.6m, and 1.6 squared comes out to 2.56. So, 60 divided by 2.56 is 23.44. 23.44 is your number on the Body Mass Index. Here is the scale: anything 18.4 or lower is considered underweight. The next range is 18.5 to 24.9, and any number that falls into that range is normal and healthy. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 means that you are overweight, and 30 or greater is morbidly obese. A person with a Body Mass Index of 30 or more should be concerned about the chance of heath problems possibly facing him or her.
Now that you know your own personal number, there is some information you should know too. Since everyone’s body is built differently, interpreting a BMI number can be tricky. Even though your BMI gives you an idea of what shape your body is in, it does not tell you how your fat and lean muscle relate to one another. Because of this anomaly, even the most in-shape athlete, such as a body builder, can have a number that is in the overweight range. A lot of times this happens because muscle is more solid than fat. On the other hand, the same can happen to thin people who do not exercise enough. These people have more fat in there fat and lean muscle comparison. The problem is that even though they might show as having a normal BMI, they are actually exposed to a higher chance of critical health issues.
If you are a person who has an unhealthy percentage of fat, starting on a healthier diet immediately is key. You might want to also think about using a health supplement like chromium that has a B-complex, green tea, or acai berry. Do not forget to include exercise to your routine. Exercises you can build on are perfect: using kettlebells or doing circuit training. Being aware of your BMI is the first piece of knowledge to creating a healthier lifestyle. If you discover you are unhappy as to where you fall on the Body Mass Index ranges then there is nothing stopping you from aiming for a new BMI.
This is great info to know.