What is BMI?
We always try to lose some weight. Of course when we are overweight, we are vulnerable to many diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and etc. But when we are underweight or losing too much weight there are also side effect. So now the question is what is the optimum weight for each of us?Here comes the BMI. I think many of us are familiar with BMI, body mass index. It is first introduced by Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet in 1850. There it is also known as Quetelet index. The formula to calculate BMI is simple. It is the weight in kg divided by square of height in meters. For example, Jen is 60kg and height about 170cm. After converting her height to meters, her BMI will be 60/ (1.7*1.7) = 20.76
The classification of BMI is as below:
0 ~ 16 : Severely Underweight
16~18.5 : Under Weight
18.5~25 : Optimal Weight
25~30 : Over weight
<30 : Obesity
BMI is a rough estimation of your body fat with reference to the height. However, BMI doesn’t take into account some factors like frame size, bone density and muscularity. Yes, BMI is not everything but it can give you an idea whether do you need to lose more weight. There are also special cases when one is having optimum BMI but still having some sickness. Normally more detail measurements can be done now with special equipment. The idea here is to give you a simple indication about how healthy is your weight.
In fact, if your BMI is in the range of 18.5 ~25, and you are feeling healthy then I’ll suggest you to maintain your weight. Of course you are welcome to join us with a healthy diet plan because a healthy diet not only helps you to lose weight, it also maintain your health. For those with higher BMI, it is always preferable to lose some extra pounds in a healthy way. And for those who are under weight, please do not try to lose weight in any way. Or you may even need to put on some weight, increase the ratio of body fat and muscle. It is important to know this information because we need to maintain certain percentage of body fat to make sure our bodies function smoothly. As I said, we promote a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. We do not trade health for beauty here.