In this article, you will learn what the Body Mass Index (BMI) is and how it is calculated. With the help of this value, you can determine whether your weight is too high or too low.
Table of contents
What exactly is the Body Mass Index?
The body mass index, or BMI for short, is a measure with which you can evaluate the body weight of a person in relation to its height. A classification is made from very severe underweight to morbid obesity. Since neighter sex nor age or the physical build is included in the calculation, the value should only be considered as a recommendation for correctly interpreting the body weight. The Body Mass Index is calculated as follows:
Example: A 28-year old woman weighs 65 kg and is 1.67 meters tall. This gives her a BMI of 23.3 and, as we will see below, is of normal weight.
Interpretation of the BMI
For the interpretation of the body mass index, the WHO has defined several categories ranging from very severe underweight to morbid obesity. For adults, the BMI can be classified as follows:
| Category | BMI | |
|---|---|---|
| from | to | |
| Very severe underweight | 15.0 | |
| Severe underweight | 15.0 | 16.0 |
| Moderate underweight | 16.0 | 17.0 |
| Slight underweight | 17.0 | 18.5 |
| Normal weight | 18.5 | 25.0 |
| Overweight | 25.0 | 30.0 |
| Moderate obese | 30.0 | 35.0 |
| Severe obese | 35.0 | 40.0 |
| Very severe obese | 40.0 | 45.0 |
| Morbid Obese | 45.0 | |
With the help of the BMI calculator, an individual BMI table can be generated with the specific weight, depending on the respective height. This means that the exact limits do not have to be calculated by yourself.
Limits of the BMI
As already mentioned, this index should only be interpreted as a very rough guide, as the BMI only takes into account the total weight and not the actual body fat percentage. For example, people who do weight training and therefore have a high muscle mass, are sometimes classified as overweight, although from a health point of view it is not comparable to a "normal" overweight person who simply has a too high body fat percentage. The gender is also not included in the body mass index, although it is widely known that women tend to have more body fat than men. And age, which is also not included in the calculation, also has a significant impact on a person's body weight.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one can say that the BMI should only be used as a very rought guide for the optimal body weight. Finally, everyone has to know their own physical characteristics and simply develop a feeling for interpreting their own body correctly.
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