{"id":6014,"date":"2023-05-23T12:59:08","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T07:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/?p=6014"},"modified":"2023-10-12T10:40:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T05:10:01","slug":"body-mass-index","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/body-mass-index\/","title":{"rendered":"Body Mass Index (BMI): What It Is &amp; How To Calculate"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What is the body mass index (BMI)? <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The body mass index is a medical screening tool that uses your height and weight to estimate how much fat you have in your body.<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/body-mass-index.jpg\" alt=\"body-mass-index\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><strong>How is BMI calculated?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A person&#8217;s BMI is calculated by dividing their weight in kilograms (kg) by their height in meters (m2). The WHO classifies BMI as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Underweight:<\/strong> If your BMI is 18.5 kg\/m2, you are considered possibly malnourished<\/li>\n<li><strong>Healthy weight:<\/strong> If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9 kg\/m2 you are within a healthy weight range.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overweight:<\/strong> If your BMI is 25 to 29.9 kg\/m2 you are considered overweight.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Obese:<\/strong> If your BMI is over 30 kg\/m2, you are considered obese.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Examples of calculating BMI <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For example, if a person weighs 64 kg and is 1.70 metres tall, their BMI will be:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Weight (kg) \u00f7 height (m)<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0 = <\/strong>\u00a0\u00a064 kg \u00f7 (1.70 m)<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 22.14<\/p>\n<p>Thus, BMI of this person is 22.<\/p>\n<p>To measure your waist circumference, measure your abdomen at hip height with the tape.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Health Risks Associated with High BMI <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>If you have overweight, then you may be at risk of developing: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High blood cholesterol<\/li>\n<li>Type 2 diabetes<\/li>\n<li>Heart disease<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/stroke-symptoms-diagnosis-and-prevention-tips\/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=blog&amp;utm_content=stroke\">Stroke<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/high-blood-pressure-hypertension\/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=blog&amp;utm_content=high_blood_pressure\">High blood pressure<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Gallbladder disease<\/li>\n<li>Sleep apnea and snoring<\/li>\n<li>Osteoarthritis and joint disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Health risks associated with low BMI <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>If you are underweight, then you may be at risk of developing: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comprised immune function<\/li>\n<li>Respiratory disease<\/li>\n<li>Digestive diseases<\/li>\n<li>Cancer<\/li>\n<li>Osteoporosis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Benefits of maintaining normal BMI <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Keeping a healthy weight and body mass index has several benefits. It reduces the risk of having:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heart disease<\/li>\n<li>Stroke<\/li>\n<li>Diabetes<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/signs-symptoms-causes-and-treatment-of-anemia\/?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=organic&amp;utm_campaign=blog&amp;utm_content=anemia\">Anemia<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li>Infertility risks<\/li>\n<li>Osteoporosis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Having a healthy body weight increases energy levels, optimizes the immune system, and relieves back and joint tension.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How is BMI interpreted for children and teens?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>BMI for children is calculated with the same formula, but it is interpreted in a different way due to the changes in weight and height with age, as well as their relation to body fatness.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Tips to achieve a healthy BMI <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>You can maintain a healthy BMI by making a few changes to your lifestyle: Here are a few things you can do to maintain a healthy weight:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid food that is high in sugar, fats and calories.<\/li>\n<li>Eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.<\/li>\n<li>Exercise thrice a week.<\/li>\n<li>Limit alcohol consumption.<\/li>\n<li>Drink lots of water.<\/li>\n<li>Get enough sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Limitations of BMI <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There is a strong correlation between BMI and body fat, but two people with the same BMI may have different body fat levels.<\/p>\n<p>BMI doesn\u2019t measure the location or distribution of body fat due to the fact that excess fat accumulation in certain areas of the body is associated with a higher risk of health conditions.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Frequently Asked Questions <\/strong><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>1. What is the body mass index? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Body mass index (BMI) is a tool that measures the amount of body fat by using your height and weight measurements.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. What is the normal range of BMI? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The normal BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9 kg\/m2.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. How do I calculate my BMI? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>A person&#8217;s BMI is calculated by dividing their weight in kilograms (kg) by their height in meters (m2). For example, Weight (kg) \u00f7 height (m)<sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 68 kg \u00f7 (1.65 m) <sup>2<\/sup>\u00a0\u00a0 =\u00a0\u00a0 24.97<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>This blog is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or as a substitute for consulting a physician. It is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment from a healthcare professional.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is the body mass index (BMI)? The body mass index is a medical screening tool that uses your height and weight to estimate how much fat you have in your body. How is BMI calculated? A person&#8217;s BMI is calculated by dividing their weight in kilograms (kg) by their height in meters (m2). The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":9199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1567,1568,1569],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9022,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6014\/revisions\/9022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lalpathlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}