Body Mass Index

[retsu]

The Body Mass Index (BMI) measures your weight in relation to your height and

 

provides a guideline to determine if you're at risk of weight related health problems.

 

Since the BMI measurement doesn't differentiate between muscle mass and fat mass,

 

it is only a rough gauge of obesity.

 

formulae: weight / (heigh x heigh)

 

[example: 70kg / (1.73m x 1.73m) = 23 ]

 

BMI:

 

<18.5 = Underweight

 

18.5-24.9 = Normal

 

25-29.9 = Overweight

 

30-40 = Moderately obese

 

40+ = Severely obese

[Tibby]

yeah...

[ZR440]

That last Big Mac I had just put me into the overweight status.

[BladeLee]

Not that it matters but...

 

for those of you in the U.S. try

 

((BW/height in inches) / height in inches) *709

 

example

 

((165/68)/68) * 709 = 25.3

[thenakedpage]

Since the BMI measurement doesn't differentiate between muscle mass and fat mass,

 

it is only a rough gauge of obesity.

 

Good point retsu. But I wouldn't say rough, I would say downright inaccurate. I can't see doctors or health professionals diving for the BMI chart any time they come into contact with an obese or overweight individual though. One glance should suffice. Health issues aside, I think it has more to do with self-image than numbers on a chart. Some people would rather be dead than fat (strange, but true). Other people wouldn't want be skinny for all the money in the world (also strange). As long as we are happy with who we are, and our behaviour doesn't harm anybody but ourselves, what good is a BMI?

[karatekid1975]

Good point, thenakedpage. Totally true. Most people are not happy for who they are. If they wanna lose weight, they either go about it wrong or they go to the extreme. Simply changing a few things in your diet, and increasing excerise is the most effective. If you eat pizza 6 days a week, simply cut that back to twice a week or what have you. Drop the soft drinks and beer (overload of carbs isn't good unless you are trying to increase weight/fat).

 

Don't eat red meat LOL. When I stopped eating red meat I lost fat (not muscle). I love it. Lots more energy, too You have to learn to make up for it, though But you have to know what your body needs. Everyone is different. Learn to listen to your body.

[thenakedpage]

Don't eat red meat LOL. When I stopped eating red meat I lost fat (not muscle). I love it. Lots more energy, too You have to learn to make up for it, though But you have to know what your body needs. Everyone is different. Learn to listen to your body.

 

Yeah, I went vegan for a while, but got into protein trouble. No energy! It wasn't a great attempt though, I must admit. It was more a diet of restriction than anything else. People told me that I should eat white meat like chicken and fish, but I could never hold them still for long enough to bite them. Cows, on the other hand, are quite slow...