BODY MASS INDEX
Body mass index(BMI), formerly called the Quetelet index, is a measurement of a person’s leanness or corpulence based on their height and weight, and is intended to quantify tissue mass. It is widely used as a general indicator of whether a person has a healthy body weight for their height. Specifically, the value obtained from the calculation of BMI is used to categorize whether a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese depending on what range the value falls between. Being overweight or underweight can have significant health effects, it is a useful indicator of whether any additional testing or action is required.
BMI is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2).
BMI = WEIGHT(KG) / HEIGHT(M2)
Refer to the table below to see the different classification based on BMI.
|
BMI
|
CLASSIFICATION
|
|---|---|
|
BELOW 18.5
|
UNDERWEIGHT
|
|
18.5-24.9
|
NORMAL WEIGHT
|
|
25.0-29.9
|
OVERWEIGHT
|
|
30.0-34.9
|
OBESITY CLASS I
|
|
35.0-39.9
|
OBESITY CLASS II
|
|
ABOVE 40
|
OBESITY CLASS III
|
This is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended body weight based on BMI values for adults. It is used for both men and women, age 20 or older.The BMI ranges are based on the effect excessive body fat has on disease and death and are reasonably well related to adiposity. BMI was developed as a risk indicator of disease; as BMI increases, so does the risk for some diseases. Some common conditions related to overweight and obesity include: premature death, cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, some cancers and diabetes.
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