Obesity is a chronic health condition that should not be ignored. Owing to the various health complications that stem from being overweight, you must know where exactly you stand and make every possible attempt to steer away from excessive weight gain. The body mass index (BMI) helps in categorizing you as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is the ratio of your weight scaled to your height. It is used to measure the weight category you fall in. It measures your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters. It provides an indicative value that can help you decide whether you need further investigation.
BMI is a part of the Body Composition Analysis (BCA). BCA aims at quantifying the amount of tissue mass (muscle, fat, bone) in your body to be able to categorize you as an underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese individual. It is a statistical tool widely used by most health, fitness, and medical professionals to calculate your total body fat.
You can calculate your BMI using kilograms and metres (or even centimeters) or pounds and inches as measuring units. In India, we use the metric system (i.e. kilogram and metres) to calculate the Body Mass Index.
BMI = weight (in kgs) / height (in m²)
The arithmetic value you obtain from the above-mentioned BMI formula will give you an approximation of where you stand on the body mass index chart.
According to the BMI chart, for Asians/Indians, if your BMI value is equal to or greater than 25, then you will be considered overweight. However, you’ll be at greater risk of obesity-related health complications when your BMI value is 30 and above. BMI can be calculated either manually or by using a body mass index calculator.
Everyone wants to reach the ideal body weight, isn’t it? But the truth is, your ideal body weight may be different from that of another as it is dependent upon several parameters such as your gender, height, body composition, etc.
Ideal body weight may be defined as the optimum weight that proves to be most healthy for an individual, subject to factors such as gender, build, age, etc. These factors play a crucial role in determining one’s susceptibility to health issues. For instance, if you are a highly muscular person, your BMI value will be high due to increased muscle mass and not because of excess body fat. Therefore, you will still be at lower risk of obesity-related health conditions. On the other hand, a low BMI value may not necessarily imply that you are healthy. If a major component of your weight is due to fat accumulation and not your muscles, you may be at a higher risk of health issues.
