Know Your Body Mass Index

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a good tool used for evaluation of overweight and obesity. This index is also a good tool for estimating changes in the body weight over some period of time. The idea of body mass index came from the weight-for-height tables, which was in use for several years. Just like the weight-for-height tables, body mass index has its limitations since it does not estimate body fat content or muscle mass by direct measurement. BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight expressed in pounds by height in inches squared and multiplied by the number 703.

Because body mass index is not a good measure of body fat content, two persons with identical BMI might not have the same body fat. As an example a bodybuilder with a large bulk of muscle and low percentage of body fat content might have identical body mass index compared to someone who has much more body fat. Nevertheless, despite the disadvantage mentioned above, a BMI of thirty or more generally suggests excess body fat content.

The body mass index table provided with this article serves as a useful standard to evaluate your body mass index. It's rather easy to use this chart to assess your BMI to check you position in the general population, First of all, find your weight at the lower part of the graph. Once you find your weight straight up from that point till you come to he line that corresponds your height expressed in inches. A body mass index of of 25 to 29.9 indicates the person is overweight. Someone with a body mass index of 30 or more is considered to be obese. If you see your body mass index to be above normal range, you are suggested to discuss this finding with your physician.