See your BMI on a graph

Health risks from being overweight

These risks are associated with overweight and obese adults

Adults whose BMI is greater than 25 (overweight) or whose BMI is greater than 30 (obese) have an elevated risk for many diseases and health conditions, including,:

• Hypertension (elevated blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (increased LDL cholesterol, reduced HDL cholesterol)
• Diabetes mellitus type 2 (high blood sugar)
• Coronary heart disease (plaque build-up along the inner walls of the arteries of the heart)
• Stroke (loss of brain function due to a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain)
• Gallbladder disease (gallstones, disruption of bile functions )
• Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease)
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems (problems breathing during sleep, chest and lung problems)
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)

BMI Origins

Body Mass Index Prime is method of using the results of the BMI calculations to quickly and easily rank a person into a category. Eg:

• BMI Prime less than 0.74 = Underweight.
• BMI Prime greater than 0.74 and less than 1.00 = Optimal weight.
• BMI Prime greater than 1 = Overweight

b m i Prime is a variation of the Quetelet index. Put simply, if you have a Prime of less than 0.74, you are underweight. If your prime is more than 0.74 and less than 1.00, your weight is ideal. If your bmi prime is more than 1 you are defined as being overweight.

Work it out!

You can use the following formula to calculate your BMI :

• BMI = weight(kilograms) / height² (metres²)         (Metric Units)
• BMI = 703 . weight(pounds) / height² (inches²)         (Imperial Units)

BMI limitations

BMI calculations do not differentiate between muscle mass and fat mass.
See wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index#Limitations for more information.