Body Mass Index (BMI) and How it Measure the Body Fat Body Mass Index (BMI) is based on your high and weight about your height and applied to most adult men and women aged 20 and over. For children aged 2 and above, BMI percentile is the best assessment of body fat. BMI does not measure body fat directly. However, research indicates that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat such as underwater weighing and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and is considered an inexpensive and easy-to-perform alternative for these.
FACTS ON BMI
Here are some critical points about BMI:- Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of relative size based on the mass and height of an individual.
- The Quetelet Index devised by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and statistician, in 1832.
- It was later termed “body mass index” in 1972 by Ancel Keys.
- BMI is a simple, inexpensive and noninvasive surrogate measure of body fat.
- Factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, and muscle mass do not account in BMI chart.
WHAT IS BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)?
BMI use as a screening tool to indicate whether a person is an underweight, healthy weight for their height, overweight or obese. If a person BMI is out of the excellent measure by the BMI range, their health risks may increase.
- Use our BMI calculators
- First, use the BMI chart, find your height in the left-hand column. Then, follow it over until you see your weight along the top bar.
- The number in the center box between the two is your BMI.
THE BENEFITS OF MAINTAINING A HEALTHY WEIGHT
- Fewer joint and muscle pains
- The ability to join in more activities and Increased energy
- Improved bodily fluids and blood pressure
- The Reduced burden of the heart and circulatory system
- Improved sleep patterns
- Excess of weight increases how hard the heart has to work to pump blood, it also gives high blood pressure, blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lowers HDL (good) cholesterol levels.
- Excess of weight can make help likely to develop any diabetes.
- Lifestyle changes that help maintain a 3-5% weight loss and likely to result in clinically meaningful improvements in blood glucose, triglycerides, and risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Greater weight loss can and also help reduce blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol.
THE BODY MASS INDEX MEASUREMENTS?
Researchers point out that the (BMI), based on the height and weight, is not an accurate measure of body fat because it does not account for critical factors that contribute to health or mortality, such as fat distribution, the proportion of muscle to fat, and the sex and racial differences in body. However, it used as a screening tool to identify potential weight problems in adults. If a person has a high BMI, But yet to determine if this excess weight is a health risk, call your doctor, or a healthcare provider would need to complete further assessments such as:- Skinfold thickness measurements
- Evaluations of diet
- Physical activity
- Family history
- Other appropriate health screenings
HOW TO CALCULATE BMI FOR ADULTS
Belgium Statistician Adolphe Quetelet developed the BMI formula approximately 150 years ago.THE CALCULATION OF BMI
BMI based on the following formulas:- Metric BMI Formula. Weight (kg) / Height (m)2
- Imperial BMI Formula. (Weight (lbs.) * 703) / Height (inches)2