Discover How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index - BMI

Calculate Your Body Mass Index

To decide in which weight must be reach a person, it is not enough simply to compare it with others of similar stature and age and try to reach the average weight of that group. The ideal weight is not only one, depends of many factors and there is a "normal range" within which you can move without risks.



Body mass index, usually known as BMI, is a calculation that lets you know the relationship between weight and height.

This method was proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is currently used as the most safe to determine if a person has a normal weight, overweight or obesity.

It is important to emphasize that it does not provide absolute results nor the ideal weight, it only gives an indication of the status of the person and does not distinguish between important factors such as body size, sex, or level of activity.


How to calculate ideal body weight
The calculation is very simple to perform and its result should be compared to a table for easy interpretation.

BMI = (weight / height² )

That is to say, if you weighs 120 kg and your height is 1.70m will make the calculation as follows:

BMI = 120 / (1.70² )
BMI = 120 / 2.89
Your BMI is 41.52 .

Once you have obtained this number, you must compare in the following table:

Body mass index:

Normal         18.5 to 25
overweight    25.5 to 27
Obesity I      27.0 to 30
Obesity II     31.0 to 34
obesity  III    31.0 to 39
obesity  IV    Over 40


The ends are always bad, thus keeping a weight well below the normal or overweight or have a too high are signs of poor health and disease.

The underweight carries diseases such as severe anemia, a lack of calcium and other nutrients, causes fatigue, fainting, arterial hypotension, and in women amenorrhea and hormonal problems. In severe cases can lead to severe neurological damage and even death.

It is recommended that you always stay within the normal range, since even a slight overweight increases the chances of complications.

In addition, the progressive nature of the disease can lead to progressively increase in weight without you noticing, so it is recommended that you take the reins of the situation as soon as possible.