Bmi how does it look

Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician, and sociologist, devised it in the s. It aims to estimate whether a person has a healthy weight by dividing their weight in kilograms kg by their height in meters m squared.

When Quetelet devised the BMI formula, there were no computers, calculators, or electronic devices, so he developed a simple system. Now, some people argue, we have technology that can help us add some complexity to the calculation.

After all, people are three-dimensional, not two-dimensional, and healthy bodies grow in different shapes and sizes. Trefethen argued that the formula leads to confusion and misinformation.

The height term, he says, divides the weight by too much when people are short and by too little when they are tall. The result is that short people think they are thinner than they really are, while tall people think they are fatter than they are. You can try it here. Trefethen points out that any calculation that assigns one number to a person will not be perfect. Humans are too complex to be described by a single figure. However, he believes this new calculation gives a closer approximation to the reality of human shape and size.

Consider that a person who does no exercise; is 1. An Olympic athlete who is 1. However, muscle is about 18 percent more dense than fat, so this is clearly not true. Still, Trefethen points out that if muscle is 18 percent denser than fat, a person who exercised enough to convert 10 percent of their fat into muscle would still increase their BMI by just 1.

However, this does not necessarily mean that they are overweight due to excess body fat. The excess weight, in that case, may be due to increased muscle mass. The following table shows the standard weight status categories associated with BMI ranges for adults:. A BMI of under They should ask a doctor or dietitian for advice. A BMI of By maintaining a healthy weight, they can lower their risk of developing serious health problems.

A BMI of 25— A doctor may advise them to lose some weight for health reasons. They should talk with a doctor or dietitian for advice. A BMI of over 30 indicates that a person has obesity. Their health may be at risk if they do not lose weight. People who are overweight may have a higher risk than others of conditions such as heart disease , type 2 diabetes , sleep apnea, and colorectal cancer. Some of these can be life threatening. Having insufficient weight can increase the risk of malnutrition , osteoporosis , anemia , and a range of problems that can result from various nutrient deficiencies.

It can also be a symptom of a hormonal, digestive, or other problem. Some evidence suggests that the associations between BMI, body fat percentage, and body fat distribution may differ across populations due to variations in sex, race, and ethnicity. Minus Related Pages. Height: Feet. Weight: Pounds.

For the information you entered: Height: Weight: Your BMI is , indicating your weight is in the category for adults of your height. How is BMI used? Why is BMI used to measure overweight and obesity? What are other ways to assess excess body fatness? How is BMI calculated? How is BMI interpreted for adults?

Is BMI interpreted the same way for children and teens as it is for adults? How good is BMI as an indicator of body fatness? If an athlete or other person with a lot of muscle has a BMI over 25, is that person still considered to be overweight? The accuracy of BMI as an indicator of body fatness also appears to be higher in persons with higher levels of BMI and body fatness While, a person with a very high BMI e. However, athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness.

In general, a person who has a high BMI is likely to have body fatness and would be considered to be overweight or obese, but this may not apply to athletes. People who have obesity are at increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, including the following: 10, 17, For more information about these and other health problems associated with obesity, visit Health Effects.

A comparison of the Slaughter skinfold-thickness equations and BMI in predicting body fatness and cardiovascular disease risk factor levels in children.

Body fat throughout childhood in healthy Danish children: agreement of BMI, waist circumference, skinfolds with dual X-ray absorptiometry. Comparison of body fatness measurements by BMI and skinfolds vs dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and their relation to cardiovascular risk factors in adolescents. Comparison of dual-energy x-ray absorptiometric and anthropometric measures of adiposity in relation to adiposity-related biologic factors.

Association between general and central adiposity in childhood, and change in these, with cardiovascular risk factors in adolescence: prospective cohort study. BMJ , , p. Estimates of excess deaths associated with body mass index and other anthropometric variables. Relation of body mass index and skinfold thicknesses to cardiovascular disease risk factors in children: the Bogalusa Heart Study. Comparison of bioelectrical impedance and BMI in predicting obesity-related medical conditions.

Silver Spring , 14 3 , pp. Vital Health Stat. Beyond body mass index. Measures of body composition in blacks and whites: a comparative review. High adiposity and high body mass index-for-age in US children and adolescents overall and by race-ethnic group.

Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies.