Body Mass Index

   Weight Loss

   Teens

   Child

   Diets

Body Mass Index For Scale

The BMI is purely a statistical device that is generally used as means of determining body mass by correlating between groups related by general mass i.e. height and weight. The common formula of measuring BMI is: BMI= Weight (Kg)/ Height2 (m2) and its unit is kg/m2. The body mass index scale gives a hint to the body adiposity though it never takes in account the other factors like body muscularity and body size etc. Thus BMI is never an useful tool to evaluate health factors.

BMI measurement is effectively done by using a chart. Now-a-days there are modern electronic scales which measures the height and weight of an individual and calculates the BMI instantly. The BMI scale is an easy-to-use method though it is totally dependent upon the accuracy of the data obtained. This general calculation is effective for consensus data regarding obesity or various other conditions because it can not be used to build a semi accurate representation from which a solution can be derived.

Now a days BMI scale is becoming more pertinent to measure the growth of children. The growth of children is usually documented against the BMI scale in the BMI chart. Obesity is calculated from the difference between the child’s actual BMI and the BMI on the chart. BMI can be calculated from the BMI scale very quickly without any expensive equipments. However, BMI scale doest take in account varios factors like frame size, muscularity, varying proportions of fat, bones, cartilage, water weight and many more. BMI scale is totally a statistical categorization and therefore it is not appropriate to diagnose an individual.

BMI scale is a tool that satisfactorily determines whether a person is underweight, normal, overweight or obese. According to international standard BMI between 18.5 to 25 is normal, any BMI under 18.5 is underweight, while above 25 is overweight. More than 30 indicates obesity while above 40 is indicative to morbid obesity. But this method is generally useful for the persons who are sedentary that is not much active.

Many people are not sedentary like athletes, children, elderly persons etc. who generally do not have a medium frame. For example, in case of the athletes the muscle is denser than fat. Some professional athletes are overweight according to their BMI but in reality they have perfect physique. So a modified version of BMI is needed for them. In children and elderly person the bone density is different. Thus sometimes their BMI comes as underweight. BMI scale can actually be considered as a method to measure the body fat percentage. Body fat is generally associated with some diseased conditions like hypertension, diabetes etc. So BMI scale is also indicative whether the person is prone to a particular disease or not.

BMI scale is not globally fixed. It varies from country to country. Thus, for the South East Asian people, the BMI value is lesser and for them the upper limit of normal BMI is decided as 22.9 instead of 24.9.

   Obesity

   Hoodia