How Body Mass Index Calculator Works?

by Mccalldavid



Body Mass Index or BMI indicates your total body fat, which can increase the risk of various life-threatening diseases. The National Institutes of Health publicized its BMI guidelines in June 1998 to keep the doctors, dietitians, researchers, and government agencies on the same page. In simple terms, BMI is a method to measure healthy weight of a person. It is applicable for both men and women; however, athletes and others with a muscular build, the BMI usually overestimate the body fat. Similarly, it can underestimate the body fat of older people and others who lost muscle mass. BMI is estimated with the help of Body Mass Index Calculator or BMI calculator.

What Is a BMI calculator?

Based on the research on obesity BMI is calculated by measuring the body fat of a person based on his or her weight and height. However, Body Mass Index calculator does not measure your body fat directly, rather, it closely correlates to the direct measures of your body fat. BMI calculator helps to measure the BMI for men and women above 20 years of age. BMI is also interpreted through other categories like sex and age. This is why the standard or healthy BMI for men differs from the BMI for women.

Online Body Mass Index calculators are easily available. These BMI calculators gauge your weight in pounds by dividing it with your height, which is measured in inches squared. The result is then multiplied by the conversion factor of 703. For example, a person who weighs 170 pounds and has a height of 5 feet 5 inches or 65 inches, the BMI is calculated like [170 ÷ (65)2] x 703 = 28.3. This means the person is overweight. However, the easier way to evaluate whether or not you are overweight, use an online BMI calculator. Also remember that the BMI calculator should be used for evaluating the BMI of adults and not for children.

Determining a healthy weight with a BMI calculator

According to the definitions of National Institutes of Health, having a BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered healthy weight. If it is between 25 and 29.9, you are overweight and BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. A healthy BMI for men is around 23 to 25 whereas the healthy BMI for women is between 20 and 22. In any case, BMI greater than 25 can be dangerous for both men and women. In such cases, it is recommended by the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute to lose weight, especially if you don’t have a balanced high waist measurement. The problem become more acute if you have other risk factors for disease like high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high LDL cholesterol, high blood glucose, family history of premature heart disease, cigarette smoking or physical inactivity.

Knowing your body mass index with the help of a BMI calculator help you to maintain a proper height-weight balance. In addition, it helps to determine the health risks you are facing due to overweight and obesity and with proper caution you can easily lower the risk of developing various diseases that are associated with obesity.

2 comments:

  1. An older woman generally has a high body fat percentage and therefore her body mass index should be lower than when compared to a young female. In addition to this, women who are also athletes should have a higher BMI as they tend to have additional muscle mass when compared to a woman who is not an athlete.
    Thanks.
    Healthy BMI For Women

    ReplyDelete
  2. youre welcome
    and thanks for comment.

    ReplyDelete