BMI: how to calculate body mass index
BMI or Body Mass Index is a very important value in the assessment of risks related to overweight and obesity: its criteria are provided by the World Health Organisation
What is BMI or Body Mass Index?
The BMI or body mass index is a statistical tool, originally used for epidemiological studies on obesity.
Over time, it has become a universally recognised value and a simple tool that can provide some useful information on health status.
It is very important to emphasise that, on its own, BMI does not give a complete and true indication of an individual’s physical state, as it does not give an indication of body fat distribution and does not distinguish between fat mass and lean mass.
An athlete, for example, might turn out to have a very high BMI but as a result of a developed muscle mass and not the presence of excess fat tissue, but even a woman with a normal or low BMI might not have sufficient muscle mass.
How to calculate BMI?
BMI is a numerical value produced by a calculation that anyone can do and relates a person’s weight and height.
The formula for calculating it is: BMI = weight (in kg) / height2 (in metres)
The ideal values differ slightly between men and women and can also vary depending on various factors, such as age.
What are the standard BMI values?
The ratio of weight to height squared will give a numerical value.
Depending on the result, we can thus roughly calculate a person’s BMI:
Less than 18.5 = underweight
18.5 – 24.9 = normal weight
25 – 29.9 = overweight
30 and over – obesity
40 and over = extreme obesity
What is the waistline?
Another value that can be useful in analysing one’s physical status is the waist circumference.
The waist circumference should be measured at a point corresponding to half the distance between the last rib and the anterior superior iliac spine.
In practice, also to have a reference point that does not vary, it is measured at the navel.
The waist circumference measurement is a very important parameter as it correlates greatly with the risk of developing chronic degenerative diseases, such as cardiovascular (heart attack, hypertension), metabolic (diabetes) and even oncological diseases.
An accumulation of fat on the abdomen is a symptom of an increased risk of heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. A soft tape measure is sufficient to measure the waist.
Waist values
In women and men, the values, for obvious reasons, are different.
Weight and height, among other things, must still be taken into account.
In women, a correct waistline does not exceed 80 cm.
If the waist is between 81 and 87 cm, one should start doing something to reduce it; if it exceeds 88 cm, it is extremely dangerous and should be reduced as soon as possible.
In men, on the other hand, the correct waistline is no more than 94 centimetres, becomes dangerous between 95 and 101 centimetres and becomes extremely dangerous after this figure.
BMI and obesity
The body mass index, although useful for getting a general idea of one’s state of health, is an incomplete piece of data that does not provide an unambiguous indication of the diagnosis of obesity.
It is the specialist of choice who will assist the person in diagnosis and possible treatment.
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