What Is The Body Mass Index?
If you’ve ever had a physical examination or participated in competitive sports or taken an interest in bodybuilding, then you’re probably aware of the word BMI. Body mass index is quite popular in gym classes, and is used to assess one’s physical composition. Sometimes, people believe that passing the BMI test means that they’re healthy. Since it’s quite a basic physical test, this isn’t necessarily true.
If you have underlying conditions, then you might not be able to trace them with the help of BMI. In fact, it doesn’t take into consideration your body fat percentage, as it only measures your overall weight. This article aims to define BMI and discuss some of the main surrounding facts to keep in mind.
BMI By Definition
Body mass index can be defined as a formula used to determine one’s physical health using the relationship between their weight and height. When calculating the BMI, you’re basically trying to find how many pounds one has per every square inch of their height. In other words, it divides the total weight in kilograms by one’s height in square meters.
For instance, if a person weighs 60 kilograms and is 1.5 meters tall, then their BMI is 26.67 Kg/m2. The resulting value is then used to determine whether you have a healthy weight. If not, then the doctor could recommend drugs, exercises or other changes to your lifestyle. Keep in mind that the physicians often plot BMI on the standard gender-specific growth chart, because BMI varies with gender and age.
Inasmuch as BMI is a helpful tool for the medical practitioners, its results are often an inaccurate representation of the patient’s health.. As such, doctors or any physical examiners shouldn’t use it as measure of treatment, but rather a guideline on the patient’s overall physical status. Other factors such as food intake, the patient’s medical history and activity level should be taken into consideration as or more seriously during the examination.
What You Should Know
BMI is one of the most common methods used by physical examiners to determine a person’s fitness. However, despite its popularity, many people still don’t understand exactly what this tool can or can’t do. If you’re a member of that group, then here are some of the facts that you should know about BMI.
- BMI Is A Tool
First and foremost, BMI is not a medical diagnostic tool, but a scale used to measure one’s healthy weight. Once your doctor has measured the required variables and done the calculations, they’ll go ahead and compare the final value with whatever they have on their chart. There are a few predetermined ranges that show whether you’re underweight, overweight, or in the right state. Here is the list:
- Below 18.5: underweight
- 18.5 to 24.9: healthy weight
- 25 to 29.9: overweight
- Over 29.9: obese
The ranges stated above are applicable for both men and women. However, sometimes the physician might have other charts designed based more specifically on gender or age. Whichever method is used, the doctor will advise you based on the final result.
- High BMI Value Is Dangerous
From the chart above, having below 18.5 or over 29.9 BMI means that you need some medical attention as soon as possible. However, higher values are believed to be even more dangerous than being underweight. It’s common knowledge that people who fall under the “obese” category are at risk of suffering a wide range of health complications.
For instance, blood pressure and cardiovascular conditions are majorly associated with obesity. That’s not to say that it’s okay to be underweight. A weakened immune system and loss of fertility are just some of the conditions that you could find yourself struggling with at some point. It’s best to stay within the “safe zone”, by adjusting your diet accordingly; this will boost your immunity, and reduce the risk of related health issues.
- It Doesn’t Tell The Whole Truth
The information above can be misinterpreted to mean that all people whose BMI range between 18.5 and 24.9 are healthy. The BMI isn’t a diagnostic tool, and it can’t be used in place of methods such as blood tests and physical check-ups.
Keep in mind that BMI doesn’t recognize that unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet and drugs could be the reason why you’re lean. You might also be super tall and still be healthy, but that’s one factor that’s not taken into account for BMI calculations.
Another reason why BMI is very ineffective is that it can’t differentiate between an obese couch potato and a bodybuilder who measures the same value. As such, this tool might label you as obese, underweight, or overweight when indeed you’re perfectly healthy.
Does BMI Matter?
As ineffective as BMI may seem, it still is one of the most important scales in the medical world. In fact, it’s used by both doctors and insurance companies alike for various reasons. For one, it acts as an initial guide for physicians when trying to find out your physical status. It is very useful in combination with other methods such as blood tests. Insurance companies may use this information to make decisions on how to adjust their policies, also.
Since BMI is simply a superficial measure of your size, there are better ways to determine one’s health. Many people are labeled as overweight or underweight, yet are realistically perfectly healthy. So, whether BMI matters or not is entirely dependent on how it’s used. All in all, it remains one of the most basic and easiest tools used in the sporting and medical world.
Conclusion
Body mass index can be a very confusing topic, especially if you’re a healthy person and the results suggest otherwise. To be on the safe side, it’s recommended that you consult your doctor before taking action based on your BMI value. Keep in mind that this tool only divides your weight with the square of your height, which creates many avenues for inaccuracy.
Doctors and some insurance companies may use it as a guiding factor in their decision-making process, but it’s far from a significant determinant of your actual health.
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