See your BMI on a graph

Risks of being overweight

These risks are linked with overweight and obese adults

Adults whose BMI is greater than 25 (overweight) or with a BMI greater than 30 (obese) have a greater risk of varied diseases and health conditions, including,:

• 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)
• Osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease)
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems (problems breathing during sleep, chest and lung problems)
• Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
• Hypertension (heightened blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (heightened LDL cholesterol, reduced HDL cholesterol)
• Gallbladder disease (gallstones, disruption of bile functions )

BMI Prime

B.M.I. Prime is simple way of defining a single figure that is not immedieately related to any other units of measurement, but which can quickly and easily rank a person into a category. Eg:

• BMI Prime < 0.74 = Underweight
• BMI Prime > 0.74 and < 1.00 = Optimal weight
• BMI Prime > 1 = Overweight

BMI, sometimes known as the Quetelet index, is a measure used to estimate a person's body shape based upon a person' weight and height. It originated in Belguim around the 1840's by Adolphe Quetelet. It is a simple calculation based on your body weight divided by the square of their height.

The simple maths

The formula below is used to measure BMI

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

BMI limitations

If you are Super Fit, body mass calculations will almost certainly be inaccurate for you.
See why wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index#Limitations for more details.