You may have heard about your BMI, maybe even from your doctor. What is it? Does it give a good picture of how healthy you are? BMI is an acronym for body mass index. It compares your height to weight to determine whether you’re underweight, average, overweight, or obese. BMI charts exist for men, women, and children. It’s a quick way for doctors to identify changes in your body that might indicate a health issue or point to issues like severe obesity or other weight issues. It’s not the final answer.
BMI needs to be combined with a physical exam and other factors.
Muscular people will weigh more than people without massive muscles, even though they may be the same size. A muscular six-foot man may weigh 200 pounds and be healthy without looking overweight. Another six-foot man with little muscle mass and a high percentage of body fat will look fat! The BMI chart indicates both are overweight and bordering on obese. That’s true for one but not the other. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so if your body composition is mostly muscle, you’ll look thinner.
Know your numbers, but understand they aren’t the final answer.
Based on BMI, an ideal number is between 18.5 and 24.9. Someone with a BMI below 18 is underweight, and 25 to 29 is overweight. 30 to 40 is obese, with 40 or above being extremely obese. Besides body composition, other factors influence BMI. Bone structure is one of those. People with a smaller bone structure will weigh less than someone with a larger one. The length of your body compared to your height is another factor.
BMI is only one guide.
There are far more accurate ways to determine your health. Your waist circumference is one of those. Your waist circumference indicates the amount of belly fat you have. Belly fat is visceral fat. It crowds the organs and leads to conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and breathing problems. Visceral fat causes inflammation. Men with a waist measurement over 40″ and women whose waist is larger than 34.6″ are considered at risk.
- Life insurance underwriters use BMI charts to identify and add extra premiums to those with health risks. Unlike healthcare professionals, they don’t see the person. They often rate muscular people at a higher risk due to muscle weight that affects BMI.
- The formula used for BMI is (weight in pounds x 703) / (height in inches x height in inches). Using a chart was easier than calculating the information each time.
- One study showed BMI didn’t predict cardiac health. There was no correlation between an unhealthy BMI and a healthy or unhealthy cardiometabolic profile that contains blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.
- RFM is a better way to identify health risks. RFM stands for relative fat mass index. For men, the formula is 64-(20 x height/waist circumference), and for women, 76-(20 x height/waist circumference). It helps identify a high ratio of body fat.
For more information, contact us today at Reggie C. Fitness