You often hear the term BMI in the realm of weight loss, yet what does it mean for you? BMI, stands for Body Mass Index and is a medical system that determines your healthy weight range for your age, height, waist size and activity level. Realizing you may be overweight can be put into perspective through an understanding of this critical measurement. Higher BMI's have often been linked to increased risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes type 2 and certain types of cancer. If your BMI is over 25 you are in this category and should consult with a weight loss center for an appropriate weight loss program.
Health Risks
Being overweight or obese can put you in danger of many weight related illnesses. Coronary heart disease risk rises as your BMI rises putting you at heart attack and heart failure risk. It also leads to high blood pressure which can damage the body in various ways. By building up plaque in your arteries by being overweight it also puts you at greater risk of stroke. Type 2 Diabetes has been directly linked to being overweight and can itself lead to other health risks such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, CHD and early death. Abnormal blood fats causing high cholesterol which in turn cause heart disease and CHD is another risk of a high BMI. Other risks include cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, gallstones, reproductive problems and metabolic syndrome.
Understanding the BMI Ranges
The BMI measurement is a strict height to weight ratio calculation that can determine generally if you are over or under weight. However, it does have certain limitations. For body builders or people with high concentration of muscle to fat, the BMI is not an accurate measurement. BMI is not in itself a measurement of health either. It has been proven to indicate increased health risks at either end of its scale but the health of the person is an individual assessment by a health practitioner. BMI ratings are broken down into four different ranges, including underweight, healthy, overweight, obese and morbidly obese. BMI's fewer than 18.5 mean you are underweight. Those between 18.5 and 25 are considered to be in the healthy range, while anything over 25 technically means you should consider losing weight. Over 30 BMI and you are considered obese and over 40, morbidly obese. However the terms are used in a clinical sense and not as reflection of what you look like.
BMI Inaccuracy
Like all measurements, BMI is not accurate for every situation. Very muscular people such as boxers, wrestlers, bodybuilders, athletes and trainers under this system would be considered obese. In other instances your ethnicity may also play a role in your BMI being inaccurate. For those of Asian origin a BMI below 25 may also be at higher risk for health issues.
Understanding the use of the BMI measurement and where you fall within it can help you set targets and goals for weight loss or weight gain in order to stay within a healthy height weight ratio. A weight loss center can provide excellent programs to help with your BMI.
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