What is BMI? BMI is "Body Mass Index".

It tells you whether your body weight is appropriate for your height. In Indians it is advisable that the BMI be not more than 22.9* BMI = Weight in kilograms / (Height in meters) 2 BMI is a gross estimate for the amount of fat in your body. It tells you whether you need to lose weight or not. Not all adults who have a BMI in the range labeled "healthy"are at their most healthy weight. They may have lots of fat but very little muscle. Similarly, if you are an athlete or exercise a lot, then you may have lots of muscle and less fat and if your BMI is more than the normal range, then it may still be healthy. The BMI normal range is not applicable to pregnant and breast feeding mothers.
**In Indians, it is advisable that the BMI be not more than 23 Big benefits of normal BMI
Bringing your BMI within advisable limits (<23) helps by 1. Preventing diabetes. 2. If you already have diabetes then it improves your sugar levels and also helps to bring down the diabetes medication. 3. Preventing blood pressure. 4. If you already have high blood pressure then it helps to better control your blood pressure and also to bring down blood pressure medication. 5. Preventing heart disease. 6. Preventing stroke. 7. Preventing certain types of cancer. 8. Preventing osteoarthritis (joint pains). 9. Normalizing cholesterol levels and normalizing deranged blood fat levels (lipid profile). 10. Increasing your life expectancy. 11. Making you look younger. 12. Improving your energy levels NEVER GO ON A CRASH DIET Its not healthy to lose weight very drastically. Dont keep long hungry gaps between meals .Target to lose 1.5-2.5 kgs per month, not more

Body mass index

The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a statistical measure which compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is used to estimate a healthy body weight based on a person's height. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problems within a population, usually whether individuals are underweight, overweight or obese. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing "social physics".[1] Body mass index is defined as the individual's body weight divided by the square of his or her height. The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. BMI can also be determined using a BMI chart,[2] which displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colours for different BMI categories.

SI units

Imperial units

Categories
A frequent use of the BMI is to assess how much an individual's body weight departs from what is normal or desirable for a person of his or her height. The weight excess or deficiency may, in part, be accounted for by body fat (adipose tissue) although other factors such as muscularity also affect BMI significantly (see discussion below and overweight). The WHO[8] regard a BMI of less than 18.5 as underweight and may indicate malnutrition, an eating disorder, or other health problems, while a BMI greater than 25 is considered overweight and above 30 is considered obese. These ranges of BMI values are valid only as statistical categories when applied to adults, and do not predict health.

Category Severely underweight Underweight Normal Overweight Obese Class I Obese Class II Obese Class III

BMI range kg/m2 less than 16.5 from 16.5 to 18.4 from 18.5 to 24.9 from 25 to 30 from 30.1 to 34.9 from 35 to 40 over 40

BMI Prime less than 0.66 from 0.66 to 0.73

Mass (weight) of a 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) person with this BMI under 53.5 kilograms (8.42 st; 118 lb) and and and and and

between 53.5 and 60 kilograms (8.42 9.4 st; 118 and 130 lb) between 60 and 81 kilograms (9.4 from 0.74 to 0.99 12.8 st; 130 and 180 lb) between 81 and 97 kilograms (12.8 from 1.0 to 1.2 15.3 st; 180 and 210 lb) between 97 and 113 kilograms (15.3 from 1.21 to 1.4 17.8 st; 210 and 250 lb) between 113 and 130 kilograms (17.8 from 1.41 to 1.6 20 st; 250 and 290 lb) over 1.6 over 130 kilograms (20 st; 290 lb)

The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1994 indicates that 59% of American men and 49% of women have BMIs over 25. Morbid obesitya BMI of 40 or more was found in 2% of the men and 4% of the women. The newest survey in 2007 indicates a continuation of the increase in BMI: 63% of Americans are overweight, with 26% now in the obese category (a BMI of 30 or more). There are differing opinions on the threshold for being underweight in females; doctors quote anything from 18.5 to 20 as being the lowest weight, the most frequently stated being 19. A BMI nearing 15 is usually used as an indicator for starvation and the health risks involved, with a BMI <17.5 being an informal criterion for the diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. BMI is used differently for children. It is calculated the same way as for adults, but then compared to typical values for other children of the same age. Instead of set thresholds for underweight and overweight, then, the BMI percentile allows comparison with children of the same sex and age.[9] A BMI that is less than the 5th percentile is considered underweight and above the 95th percentile is considered obese for people 20 and older. People under 20 with a BMI between the 85th and 95th percentile are considered to be overweight. Recent studies in Britain have indicated that females between the ages 12 and 16 have a higher BMI than males of the same age by 1.0 kg/m2 on average.[10]

NORMAL WEIGHT (18.5 - 24.9) OVERWEIGHT (25 - 29.9) OBESITY (=> 30)

BMI
Height cms (metres)
147cm (1.47m) 150cm (1.50m) 152cm (1.52m) 155cm (1.55m) 157cm (1.57m) 160cm (1.60m) 163cm (1.63m) 165cm (1.65m) 168cm (1.68m) 170cm (1.70m) 172cm (1.72m) 175cm (1.75m) 178cm (1.78m) 180cm (1.80m) 183cm (1.83m) 185cm (1.85m) 188cm (1.88m) 191cm (1.91m) 193cm (1.93m)

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Body Weight (kilograms)
41 44 45 48 50 52 54 56 59 61 63 65 67 69 72 73 43 45 47 49 52 54 56 58 60 63 65 67 69 72 74 76 44 46 49 51 54 56 58 60 63 65 67 69 72 74 76 79 45 48 50 53 55 57 60 62 65 67 69 72 74 77 79 82 47 49 52 54 57 59 62 64 67 69 72 74 77 79 82 84 49 51 54 56 59 61 64 66 69 72 74 77 79 82 84 87 50 53 55 58 61 64 66 68 71 74 77 79 82 84 87 89 52 54 57 60 63 65 68 71 73 76 79 82 84 87 90 93 54 56 59 62 64 67 70 73 76 78 81 84 87 90 93 95 55 57 61 64 66 69 72 75 78 81 84 87 90 93 96 98 57 59 63 65 68 72 74 78 80 83 86 89 92 95 98 101 58 61 64 68 70 73 77 80 83 86 89 92 95 98 101 104 60 63 66 69 73 76 79 82 85 88 92 95 98 101 104 107 62 65 68 71 75 78 81 84 88 91 94 98 101 104 107 110 64 67 70 73 77 80 83 87 90 93 97 100 103 107 110 113 65 68 72 75 79 83 86 89 93 96 99 103 107 110 113 117 67 70 74 78 81 84 88 92 95 99 102 106 109 113 116 120 69 73 76 80 83 87 91 94 98 102 105 109 112 116 120 123 71 74 78 82 86 89 93 97 100 104 108 112 115 119 123 127

35

76 78 81 84 87 89 93 95 98 101 104 107 110 113 117 120 123 127 130

BMI
NORMAL WEIGHT (18.5 24.9) OVERWEIGHT (25 - 29.9)

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

35

OBESITY (=> 30)

Obesity Chart Use the simplified chart (see below) of the BMI obesity level for men and women between the height of 4 feet 10 inches (1.47m) and 6 feet (1.83m). How to Use the Obesity Chart 1. Find your height in the Height column 2. Look in the Obesity Point column to see when you become obese How to See When You Are Obese If you are 5 ft 4 inches tall, you start to suffer from obesity when you reach about 175 pounds

Height
4.10 4.11 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 6.0 1.47m 1.50m 1.52m 1.55m 1.57m 1.60m 1.63m 1.65m 1.68m 1.70m 1.73m 1.75m 1.78m 1.80m 1.83m

Obesity Point
Kilos 65.0kg 67.3kg 69.5kg 72.3kg 74.5kg 76.8kg 79.5kg 81.8kg 84.5kg 86.8kg 89.5kg 92.3kg 95.0kg 97.7kg 100.4kg 143 148 153 159 164 169 175 180 186 191 197 203 209 215 221 pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds pounds

Ft/inches Meters Pounds

Note: All weights are approximate.