The Definition of BMI and Its Importance in Health

Defining BMI: Why It Matters for Your Health

Body Mass Index or BMI is a measure of a person's weight relative to their height. Some healthcare providers use BMI as an indicator of a person's overall health. The tool is a convenient means of keeping track of health and disease risk in general.
In this article, we will discuss the BMI definition and other aspects of it. Read on. 

What is BMI or Body Mass Index

  
The Body Mass Index or BMI definition refers to a medical screening tool which is used by healthcare providers to get an estimate of a person's body fat percentage. The calculation gets done by measuring the ratio of a person's height to their weight. 
BMI can be calculated by using this formula: BMI=Weight (kg)÷Height(m²).

What are the Different Categories of Weight?

The Body Mass Index table classifies different types of weight according to scores. The ideal range according to BMI is the "normal" category, which refers to the range of 18.5 - 24.9.

   
Here is the BMI index table, which showcases the various categories of weight people fall under:

BMI Scores Categories of Weight
Less than 18.5 Underweight   
18.5 - 24.9 Normal weight
25 - 29.9 Overweight    
30 and more Obesity 
Knowing your BMI category can assist you in recognising possible health risks and guide you in making informed choices to maintain or enhance your overall health.

Importance of BMI on Health

There's It’s important to know your BMI - both for you and your healthcare provider. Here are a few ways how your BMI is important: 

Helps to Assess and Maintain Health
BMI aids in screening the body weight and aids in understanding whether you are underweight, overweight or of a normal weight. 
This tool serves as a great indicator concerning your need for further evaluation. It determines where your health stands and the risks linked with being underweight/overweight. 

Determines the Risk of Adverse Health Conditions
There have been a lot of studies which claim that there is a link between BMI and the risk of chronic illnesses. A few examples of such illnesses are - Diabetes, Heart Disease, Hypertension, etc. 
Since BMI has the capacity to tell whether a person is overweight/underweight, it can better guide a person on the steps to take next, for curbing their disease. 

Aids to Lose/Gain Weight
Prior to starting your weight loss or gain journey, it becomes essential to know how much is required so that it does not end up having a negative effect on your health. 
Hence, knowing your BMI can help you understand your health requirements so that you plan your course of action according to that. 

Boosts Self-Confidence
Additionally, understanding your body weight encourages you to be your best and powers confidence. It is also good for your mental health, as knowing you are at your best weight will help you feel better about yourself. 

Helps to Personalise Health
BMI or Body Mass Index also guides the healthcare provider to tailor recommendations based on health requirements. It works in effectively addressing particular needs. 
Knowing your BMI also helps healthcare providers determine the state of your nutrition or if you have any disorders.

BMI – An Indicator in Healthcare
BMI definition states that it is considered to be an indicator of the total body fat percentage for a lot of individuals. Hence, it gets considered as a good indicator of adverse health risk. 
BMI is used by medical professionals for screening obese and overweight individuals. 

A few examples of diseases in people with a high BMI are:
●Type 2 Diabetes
●High Blood Cholesterol
●Heart Disease
●Certain Cancers
●Premature Death
●Stroke
●Gallbladder Disease
●Snoring and Sleep Apnea

BMI is only a sole factor to calculate healthy risk. There are also other factors that get considered when determining general health like - family history of heart disease, smoking status, substance abuse, menopause, waist circumference, etc. 

Advantages of BMI
Body Mass Index works really well for what it was originally intended to do and that is measuring "obesity". According to Obesity definition BMI, those people belong to the category who have a fat percentage of more than 30.

By looking at the changes of BMI level, researchers get a grasp on the idea of how obesity rates vary over time.
Tracking BMI routinely also poses great benefits for the general people as well. By using the BMI scale people can better determine whether they need to lose weight or gain a normal weight. 

Drawbacks of Using The BMI Scale
According to BMI definition, it is simply just a measurement that gets done by determining your height to weight ratio. This indicates that it does not take into account where the fat is actually coming from or what type of fat it actually is - visible or subcutaneous. For this reason, you could have a healthy weight in real life but be obese according to BMI.

Does BMI Apply to All?
For the majority of the people, BMI can be utilised for providing a good measure of obesity. But BMI in essence fails to provide any factual information regarding body composition like the amount of muscle, fat, bone and other tissues you have. 
For some people, BMI is a more accurate measure of their body fat as compared to others. For instance, people who are muscular fall into the category of "overweight" when in reality they are very healthy and fit. 

Very similarly, when a frail person gets labelled as "normal" weight in BMI, but might have very little muscle mass combined with a high percentage of body fat. 

Final Words

Hopefully, you got what BMI definition is now and all that it entails. BMI in general is a pretty useful tool and works great as an indicator on where to get started. Then again it is not considered as the ultimate determiner for your general health. There are a lot of other health factors which get considered additionally on top of BMI to assess the condition of your general health.