Calculate Bmi

Doctors and other medical professionals calculate BMI in order to guide their advice to a patient whose weight may be a concern. The acronym stands for Body Mass Index. Calculating BMI is fairly simple and you can even do it at home if you have access to a computer. The number resulting from the calculation defines your weight class as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.

When you access and online resource to calculate BMI, you will only need two pieces of information about your body. You calculate BMI using your height and your weight. These two pieces of information are measured against one another to come up with a two digit number followed by a decimal point and another number.

If you calculate BMI for yourself and the number comes in at less than 18.5, then you are considered underweight. This may seem like an unlikely problem in a culture which is mostly concerned about obesity. However, this is indeed an issue for children and sick adults. If you are underweight, your doctor will want to take further tests to see is there is some reason besides malnutrition behind it.

Normal weight is indicated by numbers between 18.5 and 24.9 when you calculate BMI. If you fall into this category you are not necessarily out of trouble. It is easy for certain people, such as the young and the very active, to maintain a normal weight while keeping poor eating habits. At some point, you age or stop the high level of activity and your weight will increase. Normal weight after a BMI calculation does not mean that you can disregard your diet.

If you calculate BMI for yourself and the number turns out higher than 25 but less than 30, then you are officially overweight. You may be surprised to find yourself in this category. Many people who think of themselves being in decent shape are actually overweight. For instance, if you are a man who is five feet and ten inches tall, your ideal weight is near 150 pounds. At 180 pounds you are already well into the overweight category. In todays society, in which many people have sedentary jobs, many average people are actually above the weight which they should maintain.

When doctors calculate BMI for patients and the equation turns out a number higher than 30, they should definitely counsel their patients about diet and weight loss assistance. This number classifies a person as officially obese. The problems associated with obesity make a list to long to enumerate. Let it suffice to say that obesity can greatly shorten a persons life span and makes him or her liable to contract many diseases which would otherwise be avoided.

All people should locate a resource with which they can calculate BMI. However, this number should not be the lone factor in changing your approach to diet and exercise. You should always consult a physician about your health, your weight and the measures you take to control it.