Obesity – How To Calculate Your BMI

By Kat Fuschillo
Writer for FEP International

If you think you may be overweight or even perhaps obese, it's important to know your BMI (Body Mass Index). This will help you understand how overweight you really are, and if you need to lose any weight. Being too overweight can lead to a number of health problems and complications, so it's important to remain in the safe Body Mass Index zone. Read on to find out how to work out your BMI, and learn how to lose weight and reduce your BMI.

Am I overweight or obese? How to work out your BMI.

Before you are able to accurately work out your BMI you will need to find out how tall you are, and how much you weigh. Ask a friend or family member to measure your height with a tape measure (with your shoes off), as it can be difficult measuring your own height. Next, you will need to weigh yourself with an accurate scale. Be sure to weight yourself in your underwear, as your shoes and clothing will add extra pounds.

Once you have these measurements, you will need to use a BMI chart to work out your Body Mass Index. You can find charts on-line, but make sure you are using the right chart for you. You'll find that the BMI charts for men, women and children will vary. Once you have worked out your Body Mass Index, you can find out what BMI category you fit into. For athletic individuals, BMI charts may not be accurate. For athletic individuals with a lot of muscle mass or large body frames, there are other methods to calculate body fat.

BMI is divided into the following 5 groups:

Underweight - BMI is less than 18.5
Ideal weight - BMI 18.5 - 25
Overweight - BMI 25 - 30
Obese - BMI 30 - 40
Very obese – BMI is greater than 40 [2]

How to set a BMI weight loss goal?

If you fall into either the very obese or obese category, you will need to start to losing weight. It's important to set yourself a realistic goal that you can stick to, and you should initially aim to move down one BMI group at a time. If you're Very Obese, you will need to aim for the Obese BMI category, and so on and so forth.

You should aim for a healthy weight loss of around one to two pounds each and every week. This steady weight loss will help you gradually reduce your BMI. In order to get started, you will first need to look at your current daily diet. You'll need to reduce the amount of food you eat each day, and also cut out any fatty and junk style foods.

You'll then need to think about a daily exercise plan. If you're very overweight, you need to start slowly with gentle walks, and then build up to a more vigorous exercise regime. You should aim for around 30 minutes of activity each and every day. This will substantially aid your weight loss, and help you quickly move down a BMI group.

If you're weight loss or BMI number plateaus don't worry, it may take your body a little while to get used to your new diet. As long as you stick to a healthy diet plan and exercise daily, you should expect to see some excellent results.

References

1. Body Mass Index –

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/whatis_bmi.shtml. Accessed Aug 22, 2009.

2. Body Mass Index –

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/bmiimperial_index.shtml. Accessed Aug 22, 2009.

3. What's your BMI? -

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/BodyMassIndex.aspx. Accessed Aug 22, 2009.

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