What Is Body Mass And Does It Effect Us.

The BMI (Body Mass Index) has become a useful tool in managingweight and body fat percentage in the last 20 years.Calculating it requires only simple arithmetic and can beperformed by anyone. It's important because it provides anobjective measurement that, combined with the appropriate scalefor age and body type, helps someone manage their body weightmore scientifically.Judgments about body weight can easily become clouded byemotionalism. It's good to be passionate about managing yourbody, but you need to get a good grounding in facts, first. BMIis an important tool for achieving that goal.BMI factors in not only your weight, but also your height.Simply divide your weight in kilograms (1 lb = 0.454 kg) by thesquare of your height in meters. (1 inch = 2.54 cm)So, for a person 5 ft 7 in (67 inches) tall, who weighs 120 lbsthe calculation would look like this:Height: 67 inches x 2.54 cm/inch = 170.18 cm = 1.7018 mHeight squared: 1.7018 m x 1.7018 m = 2.896 m^2Weight: 120 lbs x 0.454 kg/lb = 54.48 kgSo, BMI = 54.48 kg / 2.896 m^2 = 18.81But what does this number mean? The following table lists onecommonly accepted classification, using BMI:Under 18.5 = UnderweightBetween 18.5 and 24.99 = NormalBetween 25 and 29.99 = OverweightBetween 30 and 34.99 = Obese (Class 1)Between 35 and 39.99 = Obese (Class 2)40 and above = Extreme ObesityOf course, anyone near the borderline of one classificationshouldn't panic, since these can't be anything but guidelines.Nevertheless, anyone nearer the higher range should considerthe health risks associated with a high BMI. Some of those are:hypertension, increased risk of cardiovascular disease (heartproblems) and increased chance of diabetes. Consult a physicianfor details.There are limitations on the usefulness of BMI. It doesn't takeinto account different body types, athletic conditioning, age,muscle-to-fat ratio and other characteristics.As a result, it can overestimate the risk for stocky athletesand underestimate it for older individuals who have reducedmuscle mass. And, gender isn't taken into account either. Yetwomen, just as one example, have a naturally larger percentageof body fat than men, on average.Another measure is useful to couple with BMI: waistcircumference. Since, for men and women both (thoughparticularly for men) body fat is stored preferentially aroundthe waist this can be a useful piece of information.For most men around, say, 5 ft 9 inches a waist measurementover 37 inches (94 cm) is substantial, while one over 40 inches(101.6 cm) indicates a health risk. For women approximately 5 ft7 inches tall, the numbers are 31 inches (78.7 cm) and 35 inches(89 cm), respectively.Keep in mind that these are averages, but those withsubstantial waistlines can see the amount of excess fat stored,confirming that the numbers constitute a useful piece ofinformation.What to do with, or about, those numbers is a different story,of course. No single measurement tells the whole story aboutweight, body fat and how to manage it. But these representuseful and objective measures when considering any weight lossprogram.About The Author: http://Ydiets.com is an excellent place tofind weight loss and diet resource, links and articles. Formore information visit:weight loss