What’s Your Body Mass Index?
What's your Body Mass Index and why should you care about your BMI?
If you’re 40 or more pounds overweight, chances are you’re aware of your need to lose some extra pounds. But what about the borderline overweight? Does just an extra ten pounds really raise your risk of health complications? Are you just 'big-boned'? How do you decide if you really need to lose weight - and how much you need to lose?
Now the most commonly used measure is the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI measures your weight relative to your height. It’s a fairly accurate representation of muscle-to-fat ratio, although there are some limitations.
1. Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. So if you’re really athletic, it may overestimate your BMI.
2. It may underestimate the BMI of an elderly person, or someone with low muscle mass.
BMI calculators available online will allow you to check your own BMI. Here’s the table for determining risk factors associated with obesity:
Below 18.5 - Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 - Normal
25.0 - 29.9 - Overweight
30.0 and up - Obese
So, if your BMI is above 25.0, your doctor or other medical professional can advise you on the best weight loss plan for you. There are actually great benefits to losing even a moderate amount of weight. Benefits like:
* Lowering your risk of diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, a weight loss of as little as 10 pounds can decrease the chances of pre-diabetes developing into diabetes by 58%.
* Lowering your risk of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, coronary problems are directly correlated to weight. By losing weight to bring your BMI to within normal ranges, you significantly lower your risk of developing heart problems.
* Reduce your risk of arthritis and pain from arthritis. Some forms of arthritis are related to weight. Losing weight substantially decreases the strain that additional weight places you your knees, hips, back and ankles.
Let’s look at three ways you can start losing weight today:
Move it.
If you do nothing different in your life but exercise for one half hour daily, you’ll lose 5-7% of your body weight per year.
Nix white breads and sugars.
Substitute yummy whole grains for refined flours and sugars, and you'll automatically reduce the number of calories that you consume daily.
Eat more fresh vegetables.
Fresh vegetables, especially raw, offer many of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs daily. They're high in nutrition, while low in calories. By increasing the amount of fresh vegetables that you eat, you'll cut calories and carbohydrates.
Then having your BMI calculated won’t be so scary!
Posted by Anna Dedrick
Check out http://dietingsucks.blogspot.com/
If you’re 40 or more pounds overweight, chances are you’re aware of your need to lose some extra pounds. But what about the borderline overweight? Does just an extra ten pounds really raise your risk of health complications? Are you just 'big-boned'? How do you decide if you really need to lose weight - and how much you need to lose?
Now the most commonly used measure is the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI measures your weight relative to your height. It’s a fairly accurate representation of muscle-to-fat ratio, although there are some limitations.
1. Muscle is denser and weighs more than fat. So if you’re really athletic, it may overestimate your BMI.
2. It may underestimate the BMI of an elderly person, or someone with low muscle mass.
BMI calculators available online will allow you to check your own BMI. Here’s the table for determining risk factors associated with obesity:
Below 18.5 - Underweight
18.5 - 24.9 - Normal
25.0 - 29.9 - Overweight
30.0 and up - Obese
So, if your BMI is above 25.0, your doctor or other medical professional can advise you on the best weight loss plan for you. There are actually great benefits to losing even a moderate amount of weight. Benefits like:
* Lowering your risk of diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, a weight loss of as little as 10 pounds can decrease the chances of pre-diabetes developing into diabetes by 58%.
* Lowering your risk of heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, coronary problems are directly correlated to weight. By losing weight to bring your BMI to within normal ranges, you significantly lower your risk of developing heart problems.
* Reduce your risk of arthritis and pain from arthritis. Some forms of arthritis are related to weight. Losing weight substantially decreases the strain that additional weight places you your knees, hips, back and ankles.
Let’s look at three ways you can start losing weight today:
Move it.
If you do nothing different in your life but exercise for one half hour daily, you’ll lose 5-7% of your body weight per year.
Nix white breads and sugars.
Substitute yummy whole grains for refined flours and sugars, and you'll automatically reduce the number of calories that you consume daily.
Eat more fresh vegetables.
Fresh vegetables, especially raw, offer many of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs daily. They're high in nutrition, while low in calories. By increasing the amount of fresh vegetables that you eat, you'll cut calories and carbohydrates.
Then having your BMI calculated won’t be so scary!
Posted by Anna Dedrick
Check out http://dietingsucks.blogspot.com/
posted by Joe Muka @ 8:51 PM
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