What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?

Body mass index is the measurement of one’s weight with respect to height. It is commonly used to find out whether a person has a healthy weight or not. BMI value defines whether a person falls in the underweight, overweight, or healthy category. It depends on the range where BMI value falls between. To find the BMI value we use a specific calculator called BMI calculator due to the help of which you can find your category and take a health decision according to it. To better understand the BMI ranges and categories, You can look up the following table.

BMI Table:

Benefits of BMI Calculator:

• BMI tells you whether you are underweight, overweight, healthy, or Obese.
• It helps you to understand the fat percentage in your body. Based on which your dietician can prepare a diet chart and exercises for you.
• This tool saves time and effort than calculate BMI manually. It shows you instant results.

Limitations of BMI

Yes, it’s wrong to say that BMI is a useful indicator regarding healthy body weight. But, it also has some limitations. It doesn’t consider other responsible factors for bodyweight like bone mass, fat, different body types, etc. It’s solely dependent on a person’s weight and height to measure body mass which is why it is not considered best. To measure body composition there are other approaches also you can follow like:

• Waist circumference
• Waist-to-hip ratio
• Body fat percentage

How To Manage or Maintain Your Body Mass Index:

When it comes to living a healthy and fit life, the first thing you need to do is always keep a track of your weight. Managing your weight means keeping a check on your daily eating habits. Here are some things you can do to maintain weight.

1. Track Your Calorie Count:

Counting calories seems a bit boring task but it is very important to keep track of how many calories you are consuming the whole day. By doing this you can select the right nutritional foods and multimineral supplements for your diet and also calculate the number of calories you need to burn every day.

2. Don’t Skip Breakfast:

Many studies have proved that Breakfast is an important meal of the day. But still, there are people who often skip breakfast. It has seen that people who take their meals without skipping and on time are more successful in managing their weight.

3. Regular Exercise:

With a sedentary lifestyle, some people find it very difficult to carve out a little time for exercise. Exercise is as important for you as a healthy diet. So, do exercise daily to burn out extra fat from your body. However, if you are having muscle pain or muscle soreness for more than 72 hrs after a workout, you should take muscle recovery supplements to recover your muscles faster.

4. Avoid Overeating:

It is one of the key steps that you should follow to manage your weight. Keep in mind that you should eat the right food in the right amount to avoid future weight problems.

5. Drink plenty of water:

In order to maintain your body mass index, it is necessary for you to stay hydrated. You usually confused thirst with hunger and when it happens they end up eating food and consuming calories instead of drinking water. Understand what your body really needs and keep yourself hydrated.

6. Sleep Enough:

Sleeping is an important factor to maintain your overall health. When it comes to health, You should never avoid this factor. If you are having trouble with your sleep, you are suggested to consume Detocalm Capsules. It will improve your sleeping time, reduce your stress, and helps you in muscle recovery.

7. Cut down Alcohol:

Alcoholic Products are packed with sugar, carbs, and empty calories. Besides calories, alcohol has other negative effects too. So, to maintain a healthy BMI, you should avoid alcohol consumption.

Ideal BMI range for children

BMI measurement for children is slightly different than adults. To calculate BMI In adults, gender and age don’t matter. Whether you are a male or female, the same BMI formula applies to both genders. However, in children and teenagers, age and sex is needed to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). The reason behind this is the amount of body fat in children keeps changing as their body is in the developing phase. If we put it simply, children can’t be categorized by height and weight ranges due to the following reasons.

• Weight of children changes as their height increases
• In children, male and female body development rates are different
• Healthy weight ranges in children change as they grow.

So, while calculating the BMI for children, doctors use the same formula to calculate as adults but the process doesn’t stop here. After getting BMI, doctors compare the BMI with the specifically made BMI chart for kids. This BMI chart is made by taking children’s age and gender into consideration. By the BMI value and BMI chart, doctors or health care professionals determine Body Mass Index in children.

How doctors use BMI

Though BMI Calculator is a good tool to know in which body composition category you fall in but it’s not accurate enough to use professionally. For Example, if someone has a high or low BMI, a doctor might also consider other factors, such as:

• Skinfold thickness measurements, waist to hip ratio, body fat percentage, etc. which indicate the presence of fat in the body
• Evaluation of daily nutrition and physical activity
• Ask you about a family history of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.

Based on all these factors, the doctor or healthcare professional can then make appropriate diet and exercise routines needed.

FAQ’s

Q.1 How to use BMI Calculator?

Ans.1 Follow these steps:

1. Enter your weight (kgs) in the weight section.
2. Then enter your height in the height section. Put Feet in the “ft.” section and Inches in the “In” section.
3. Press Calculate
4. Calculator will give you results according to the values you provided. It will tell you the category you fall into.
5. To enter other values or calculate them again. Click on the“Re-calculate” Button.

Q.2 What Formula is used to calculate BMI?

Ans.2 To calculate BMI, Divide one’s weight in Kilograms by his/her height in meter square(m²). For instance, if you weigh 70 kgs and your height is 5 feet 6 inches then your body mass index will be calculated as 70(kgs)/ 2.913 (height in m² )

Q.3 Why is BMI calculation important for your health?

Ans.3 According to the National Institute of Health(NIH), BMI is the deciding parameter to know if you fall in the Underweight, Healthy, Overweight or obese category. If Your BMI is too high or too low then you are more prone to diseases like arthritis, Diabetes, High Cholesterol, High Blood pressure, liver diseases, etc. Knowing your BMI helps you to make fitness decisions as per your BMI.

Q.4 When to see a doctor?

Ans.4 If your BMI doesn’t lie in the healthy category, you should consult a doctor once in six months to get yourself tested until your BMI improves.