Calculate your health risks by calculating your BMI  

In order to live a long and healthy life, people nowadays are becoming more and more conscious of what is healthy for their bodies and what fitness levels should be maintained. There is a wealth of knowledge available regarding how to achieve a fit and healthy physique, what foods to eat, and what workouts to perform. But how can we tell whether or not we succeeded in getting the intended results after doing all of that? How do we gauge our level of fitness? Body Mass Index is the solution (BMI).

BMI definition

The calculation of a person’s body mass index, or BMI, takes into consideration both their height and weight. It classifies you into four groups based on your weight: underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obese. Body mass index is a tool for calculating a person’s risk of obesity and underweight. The emergence of conditions categorized as civilization diseases, such as diabetes, stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and nutrition disorders, may be linked to the issue of obesity and underweight. A higher BMI increases disease risk. Overweight is defined as a BMI of 25.0 or higher, while a healthy range is 18.5 to 24.9. Most persons between the ages of 18 and 65 have BMI.

Adults are the target audience for this health indicator tool. When calculating BMI for kids or athletes with a lot of muscular mass, the results are often off. According to a study published in the American Journal of Biomedical Science & Research, the disadvantage of BMI is that it is unable to discern between muscle tissue and adipose tissue, which can be deceiving and misconstrued in athletes, especially those who engage in strength sports.

How to calculate BMI?

1. To calculate the BMI, otherwise known as the Quetelet II index from the Belgian founder Adolphe Quetelet (in the 19th century), you need to calculate the body mass quotient.
2. You need to measure your weight expressed in kilograms (kg). You can use a measuring scale for this.
3. You also need to measure your height in meters squared (m²). Stand up straight against a wall and take someone’s help to measure your height with a measuring tape.
4. Once you have the required measurements you need to divide the weight in kgs by your height in square meters. The formula being BMI=Weight (Kg)/Height (m²).
5. The resulting quotient is your BMI.