If you want to know how healthy you are, you must calculate your BMI. BMI is known popularly by its acronym. It stands for Body Mass Index. And, it is a value calculated from the weight and height of a person.
Healthcare and fitness professionals try to determine the muscle, bone and fat mass in a person’s body by calculating your BMI. Then, depending on the result, they would determine the person as either overweight or having a normal weight, or underweight.
How to calculate your BMI
There are many debates among healthcare and fitness professionals with regard to what the acceptable range of the BMI is. However, the most widely accepted ranges are as follows: underweight –below 18.5kg/m2; normal weight – 18.5-25 and overweight – 25-30. But, those who are over 30 kg/m2 are categorised as being obese.
BMI History
Belgian astronomer and mathematician, Adolphe Quetelet, first came up with the formula to calculate the BMI. He developed a method called ‘social physics’ to calculate the human body weight and height. And, he first published this formula between 1830 and 1850. However, the term body mass index first appeared in a publication named Journal of Chronic Diseases in 1972.
The Western world saw an increased number of obese people in their societies. Then the need to keep track of body fat became an urgent need. Also, BMI is one of the most famous formulas used in the health and fitness industries. This is mostly due to the simplicity of the calculation.
You can calculate BMI by using the kg/m2 formula. Measure the mass in kilograms and weight in metres. This is the universally accepted method. But, if you use pounds and inches, then a conversion factor should be applied before calculating your BMI.
Importance of calculating BMI
It is important to know your BMI. A healthcare professional will take into account a person’s BMI before considering treatment for many of the highly prevalent illnesses in the modern world. Modern science has found answers to defeating many of the life-threatening bacteria and viruses. Hence, the biggest cause of death is non-communicable diseases.
It is no secret that lifestyle decisions cause NCDs. Bad eating habits are a major cause of NCDs. Therefore, before prescribing treatment for any NCD, a doctor would measure a patient’s BMI. It is a simple numeric measure, which calculates a person’s body mass – his thickness or thinness. Therefore, it is easy for any layperson to understand.
A fitness instructor too would calculate a person’s BMI before determining a fitness routine for that person.
BMI categories
A person can determine whether he is underweight, normal weight or overweight by measuring the BMI. Both excess weight and weight deficiency indicate a deviation from what is regarded as normal or acceptable weight.
The BMI calculator helps you maintain your health. And, if the results indicate that you are either underweight or overweight, measures can be taken. A healthcare professional can devise a diet and an exercise plan for you. This can assist you to get back to the normal range. On the other hand, this can help you battle a number of common lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high cholesterol.