What is BMI?

FYI, your BMI is PDI. Huh? Would you like a translation? Here it is: For your information (FYI), your body mass index (BMI) is pretty darn important (PDI).

Did you know you had a BMI? Body mass index is a calculation that uses your height and weight to estimate how much body fat you have.

Too much body fat is a problem because it can lead to illnesses and other health problems. BMI, although not a perfect method for judging someone's weight, is often a good way to check on how healthy you are and a good way to start with your health-improvement program.

Calculating BMI

The best way to determine your BMI is to have your doctor do it for you. That way, you'll know the number is accurate and your doctor can discuss the result with you. If you're interested, you also can figure out your BMI on your own.

If you want to check what sort of shape you're in, the Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator mentioned above is a useful guide. It will tell you if you're a healthy weight for your height. Just enter your height and weight in the BMI Calculator, click on English or Metric, then click to calculate.

Interpreting Results

Remember that information the calculator provides is only a guide and it's aimed at healthy adults. It isn't suitable for children, young people or older people.

Also, if you have well-developed muscles, you may find that you will fall into the category of overweight on the Body Mass Index calculator, when in fact you may have a healthy body shape and very little fat. If you think this is the case, have a look at the Your body shape section to help you find out.

BMI	What this BMI means
Less than 19	UNDERWEIGHT You are under optimum weight for your height. You could afford to gain a little weight.
20 - 25	ACCEPTABLE You have a healthy weight for your height.
26 - 30	OVERWEIGHT You are over optimum weight for your height. You may be facing health problems, so losing some weight would be a good idea.
31 +	OBESE You are over optimum weight for your height. You may be facing health risks, so see your doctor to help you achieve a healthier weight.

Whatever the results show, the most important thing to remember is that you need to make sure you're eating a healthy balanced diet and keeping physically active.

Limitations and Shortcomings

Remember that information the calculator provides is only a guide and it's aimed at healthy adults. It isn't suitable for children, young people or older people.

Here's what Wikipedia tells us about BMI shortcomings:

The medical establishment has generally acknowledged some shortcomings of BMI. Because the BMI is dependent only upon net weight and height, it makes simplistic assumptions about distribution of muscle and bone mass, and thus may overestimate adiposity on those with more lean body mass (e.g. athletes) while underestimating adiposity on those with less lean body mass (e.g. the elderly). However, some argue that the error in the BMI is significant and so pervasive that it is not generally useful in evaluation of health. Due to these limitations, body composition for athletes is often better calculated using measures of body fat, as determined by such techniques as skinfold measurements or underwater weighing.
An analysis of 40 studies involving 250,000 people, heart patients with normal BMIs were at higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease than people whose BMIs put them in the "overweight" range (BMI 25-29.9). Patients who were underweight or severely overweight had an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The implications of this finding can be confounded by the fact that many chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cause weight loss before the eventual death. In light of this, higher death rates among thinner people would be the expected result.

Additional Reading

Check out our "books" and "pills section for additional information on improving your health by controlling your BMI / BMR and other parameters.

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