Body Mass Index (BMI)
Monday, December 11, 2006
A common way to quickly determine if you are overweight is by calculating your Body Mass Index or BMI. The number is based on your height and your weight. At a certain height you should weigh a certain amount. Go over that amount and you are overweight. Go way over and you are obese. BMI is your weight divided by the square of your height. But before you break out a pad and pencil, you could try one of the many BMI Calculators on the web.
If your BMI is over 30, you're obese. Score 25-29 and you're overweight. A normal BMI is in the 18 to 24 range.
At 5 feet 10 inches and 225 pounds, my BMI is 32.3 and that firmly places me in the obese category.
But remember that muscle weighs more than fat. So athletes with heavier body mass because of their muscles are likely to be in the obese category as well. Unfortunately for me, I am no longer an athlete so the point is moot.
If I want to move into the "Normal" BMI category, then I'll need to weigh in around 170 pounds. Losing 45 pounds sounds like a really long term goal for me. My goal weight loss is about 25 pounds. That's a much smaller number and much more attainable.
Labels: BMI
posted by Anthony @ 8:47 PM,
