What is BMI?

According to WHO, approximately 2.3% of the global population is overweight. Being overweight leads to many serious disease conditions. BMI stands for body mass index. A BMI level calculator aids in calculating the obesity in adults. It is a worldwide accepted metric that calculates the height and weight  characteristics  in adults and categorizes them into various groups based on the results.

What does BMI calculate?

Body mass index (BMI) is the measurement of weight with respect to height and is used to identify obesity and body fat in individuals.

In 1993, WHO categorized BMI into four major categories termed as underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese, which was further revised and classified into three classes, as seen in the table:

As per the WHO classification, BMI levels higher than 40 indicate obesity, which can be an invitation to many diseases.

How to get BMI index?

Well, the calculation is easy and can be done by dividing the weight of the person in kilogram by the height of the person in meters squared. Thus, you simply put the height and weight in the formula and obtain the BMI. For adults, irrespective of gender, the BMI calculator stays the same; there is no separate body mass index chart for men and women.

Does BMI calculator measure only the fatness in a person?

You may wonder what does BMI suggest? Well, studies suggest that BMI can affect the life expectancy of a person. Greater BMI, which suggests obesity, can be an indicator of disorders like diabetes, hypertension, and thus lead to poor health conditions.

Thus, BMI is a measure of weight relative to one’s height. Raised BMI can ring bells of risks associated with obesity, and preventive measures can be taken against obesity-related metabolic disorders.

Using the BMI level calculator chart above, you should aim to get fit and get within the normal weight category, irrespective of age or gender.

References:

https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo201729.pdf
http://www.who.int/gho/ncd/risk_factors/bmi_text/en/
https://www.york.ac.uk/media/economics/documents/herc/wp/06_11.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4890841/pdf/nt-50-117.pdf
https://bmcobes.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/2052-9538-1-9
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4716069/

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