Apr 21 2009

BMI Calculator

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Hmmm…I am not to sure about the BMI. There are real problems with throwing everyone into a table and deciding how fat or thin they are based on only two factors: Height and Weight.

You may have seen that at the top of this page I have a BMI and BMR Calculator, well the biggest question about this is what is BMI and why should I care?

The BMI stands for Body Mass Index and the body mass index is simply a calculation of your height versus your weight to come up with a number, hopefully not a number over 30 which is classifies as obese.

There are more important factors but you can plug in your numbers of height and weight anyway and see where your BMI stands. I would rather that we never take this number too seriously as anyone with any muscle will come in as very overweight but the health authorities in both Canada and the United States swear by the BMI in the absence of any easy way to judge peoples level of obesity.

Risk of Associated Disease According to BMI and Waist Size

BMI Waist less than or equal to
40 in. (men) or
35 in. (women)		 Waist greater than
40 in. (men) or
35 in. (women)
18.5 or less Underweight – N/A
18.5 – 24.9 Normal – N/A
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight Increased High
30.0 – 34.9 Obese High Very High
35.0 – 39.9 Obese Very High Very High
40 or greater Extremely Obese Extremely High Extremely High

OK, so why am I a little underwhelmed by BMI numbers? Well one of the problems with the BMI is that when you take a persons shape into consideration then the number may not be too accurate. Carrying to much muscle? Carrying a little too much fat across your entire body? Are you too young? These are all a way that BMI will give you warped numbers.

Really thought there is a good reason for BMI and that is to make sure that you know where you stand. Many of us are a little too confident that we do not have a weight problem and really losing that 10 or 20 pounds and therefor beinging your BMI down is maybe the best thing you can do for yourself and you may not even realize it.

Try out the BMI calculator now and see what your BMI is at.

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    One Response to “BMI Calculator”
    1. Mike says:
      May 13, 2009 at 6:48 am

      I think the key is always to remember that BMI is only ever mean’t as an estimatatio to give you an idea of where you fit in compared to other people!

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