What is the body mass index (BMI)? (2024)

FAQs

What is body mass index BMI? ›

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms (or pounds) divided by the square of height in meters (or feet). A high BMI can indicate high body fatness. BMI screens for weight categories that may lead to health problems, but it does not diagnose the body fatness or health of an individual.

Body Mass Index is a simple calculation using a person's height and weight. The formula is BMI = kg/m² where kg is a person's weight in kilograms and m² is their height in metres squared. A BMI of 25.0 or more is overweight, while the healthy range is 18.5 to 24.9.

If your BMI is less than 18.5, it falls within the underweight range. If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the Healthy Weight range. If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the overweight range. If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obese range.

Formula: weight (lb) / [height (in)]² x 703

When using a handheld calculator, if your calculator has a square function, divide weight (lb) by height (in) squared, multiply by 703, and round to one decimal place.

Furthermore, studies have shown that BMI levels correlate with body fat and with future health risks. High BMI predicts future morbidity and death. Therefore, BMI is an appropriate measure for screening for obesity and its health risks.

BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can occur with more body fat. The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.

To calculate the weight, use the following general formula: W = mg. Here, “W” is the weight of the object, “m” is the mass of the object, and “g” is the acceleration due to gravity.

How much should a 5 4 female weigh? ›

Average weight for a 5'4" female

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute indicates that a healthy weight for a woman who is 5 feet, 4 inches tall ranges from 110 to 140 pounds with a BMI of 19 to 24.

Inside the square where your weight and height meet is a number that is an estimate of your BMI. For example, if you weigh 160 pounds and are 5'7", your BMI is 25.

The BMI calculation divides an adult's weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared. For example, A BMI of 25 means 25kg/m2.

18.5 to 24.9 - you have a healthy weight range for young and middle-aged adults. 25.0 to 29.9 - you are overweight. Over 30 - you are obese.

BMI changes substantially with age. After about 1 year of age, BMI-for-age begins to decline and it continues falling during the preschool years until it reaches a minimum around 4 to 6 years of age. After 4 to 6 years of age, BMI-for-age begins a gradual increase through adolescence and most of adulthood.

For your best health, your waist should be less than 40 inches around for men, and less than 35 inches for women, although it may vary depending on race or ethnicity. If it's larger than that, you may want to talk with your doctor about what your next steps are, including losing weight.

Find the top of your hip bone and the bottom of your ribs. Breathe out normally. Place the tape measure midway between these points and wrap it around your waist. Check your measurement.

How much should a 70 year old woman weigh? ›

For example, a woman over 60 who is 5 feet 2 inches tall has an ideal body weight range of 108 to 143 pounds, while a 5-foot-6 woman has a desirable weight range of 120 to 159 pounds.

Losing weight safely typically involves losing 1-2 pounds per week ( 1 ). This would allow you to lose 20 pounds within about 5 months at 1 pound per week or 2 1/2 months at about 2 pounds per week.

We recommend losing no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week for sustainable weight loss, which means you could potentially lose 10 pounds in five weeks. However, a more realistic timeline is 10 to 24 weeks, since most people don't have hours to devote to walking every day.

Conclusion. To sum up, it could take 4-5 months on average for you to lose 40 pounds, provided that you follow a nutritious diet, regularly work out, keep your fluid intake high especially when you work out and have a balanced sleep cycle. You will surely nail it with patience and dedication.

What is the average weight for women? American women aged 20 years and above weigh an average of 170.6 pounds (lbs), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Answer and Explanation:

Answer: My mass is 49.93 k g .

Mass is a fundamental measurement of how much matter an object contains. Weight is a measurement of the gravitational force on an object. It not only depends on the object's mass, but also on its location. Therefore, weight is actually a measure of force.

The formula for density is d = M/V, where d is density, M is mass, and V is volume. Density is commonly expressed in units of grams per cubic centimetre.

Is Coffee good for you to lose weight? ›

Caffeine has been said to increase your metabolic rate by 3-11%. The higher your metabolic rate, the easier it is for you to burn fat. So this is basically gold if you're trying to lose weight.

To lose 10 pounds in one week, you'll need to burn between 3,500 and 5,000 calories more than you consume each day by restricting your diet to small portions of nutritious yet low-calorie foods, and significantly increasing your aerobic exercise with interval training, sports, and other vigorous activities.

The average woman's height is 5 feet, 4 inches. If you weigh 107 pounds or less at this height, you are considered underweight with a BMI of 18.4. A healthy weight range for that woman would be 108 to 145 pounds. BMI is just one way to measure healthy weight.

If majority rules, a size 10 has a 36″ bust, 28″ waist and a 40″ hip. She's five foot five or six inches tall and weighs 140 pounds.

Diaper Size Guide: How to Get the Right Fit

But in some cases, you might need to choose between two sizes, as the weight ranges can overlap. For example, a size 4 diaper's weight range is between 22 and 37 pounds, a size 5 diaper's weight range is over 27 pounds, and a size 6 diaper's weight range is above 35 pounds.

In older adults it is often better to have a BMI of 25 to 27, rather than under 25. If you are older than 65, for example, a slightly higher BMI may help protect you from thinning of the bones (osteoporosis).

Average American weights heights are considered obese -- about 170 lbs./5'3” for women and 197 lbs./5'9” for men -- so “average” doesn't mean “healthy.” A person's ideal weight depends on a number of factors, such as: Gender.

Am I fat if my BMI is overweight? ›

Divide your weight (in pounds) by your height (in inches) squared, and multiply that number by 703. If the resulting number is 30 or higher, by American standards, you are considered obese. You're overweight if your BMI is between 25 and 29.9.

Your body can meet the majority of your calorie requirements from stored fat, but total starvation is fatal in 8-12 weeks, regardless of initial body weight. Within one or two days of your last meal, your body will have exhausted all the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles.

Several factors can play a role in gaining and retaining excess weight. These include diet, lack of exercise, environmental factors, and genetics.

Obesity is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little. If you consume high amounts of energy, particularly fat and sugars, but don't burn off the energy through exercise and physical activity, much of the surplus energy will be stored by the body as fat.

Formula: weight (lb) / [height (in)]² x 703

When using a handheld calculator, if your calculator has a square function, divide weight (lb) by height (in) squared, multiply by 703, and round to one decimal place.

A BMI number is designed to give you an idea of how much body fat you have as a ratio of your weight to height. It's measured by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by your height in meters squared. A reading at or over 30 means you're obese. A reading at or over 40 is severe obesity.

Body mass index (BMI) is an estimate of body composition, based on weight and height. A moderate BMI for women is usually 18.5–24.9. People who know their weight and height can use a BMI calculator to work out their BMI. BMI measurements can help someone understand whether they are underweight or overweight.

The Body Mass Index is used as a quick reference to judge if an individual is overweight or underweight. However BMI does not take into account the breakdown of an individual's body fat weight and lean mass weight. The definition of Body Weight is a measurement of force due to gravity.

BMI is defined as your body mass divided by the square of your height. It is expressed in terms of kg/m². For example, in the case of a 2-meter (almost 6 foot, 7 inch) tall basketball player, one BMI point would be 4 kg, or about 8.8 pounds.

What is BMI vs body fat? ›

Body fat percentage distinguishes fat from muscle and calculates the percentage of body fat in the body. While BMI is a rough estimate of body fat, body fat percentage is a more accurate number. BMI, but not overfat.

Older people.

In older adults it is often better to have a BMI of 25 to 27, rather than under 25. If you are older than 65, for example, a slightly higher BMI may help protect you from thinning of the bones (osteoporosis).

It's no secret that the more you exercise, the more you can lower your BMI, healthily. NHS recommends doing at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week (for example a brisk walk, hiking or cycling), or 75 minutes' vigorous intensity.

BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good measure of your patients' risk for diseases that can occur with overweight and obesity. For adults, a healthy weight is defined as the appropriate body weight in relation to height. This ratio of weight to height is known as the body mass index (BMI).