Body Mass Index and your Health

Many people are using body mass index as an indicator of their health. While BMI has been shown to be a good predictor of health risks and indicator of obesity in a general population, it is a poor measurement for an individual.

Over a whole population BMI averages out to show generally speaking how many are overweight, underweight, and ideal weight. However, this is not the case for one person. Each person is built differently, with different width skeletons, different bone densities, and different muscle masses. These factors dramatically affect body weight and disrupt BMI calculation because it is a weight-based number.

Check your BMI now using this tool.

Even changes in an individual who is exercising may not be accounted for positively in a body mass index measurement. For example, a person who is participating in a quality exercise program will be engaging in resistance training to build muscle and burn fat along the way. The muscular gains help a person to maintain a lean physique.

However, muscle gains may increase body weight even when fat is being lost at the same time. For a person trying to meet weight loss goals, this can be extremely frustrating. Likewise, weight fluxuates widely throughout the day based on hydration levels and other factors.

So what's the answer? Throw out BMI/Ideal Weight measurements and check your body fat percentage. This measurement is often overlooked because it is considered by some as too complex and inaccurate. It doesn't have to be complex and it's accuracy compared to others makes no difference. What's important is that you take consistent measurements of yourself using the same tools.

Who cares if your body fat calculation says you're 1 or 2% off from what a doctor could tell you with sophisticated equipment? What matters is that you have a consistent way to measure your progress using the same tools.

You may be thinking... tools? I don't want to buy tools. You could buy a very inexpensive body fat caliper for a few dollars, but you don't even need that. Some example tools are shown below.

The US Navy developed a method of calculating body fat using only body measurments. So with a tape measure and a tool to calculate the formula, you can get your body fat percentage without spending any money. Check your body fat using only a tape measure here.

Do both measurements put you in the same health category (i.e. ideal, overweight, obese)? Those who are very muscular will often find that BMI puts them in the overweight category though their body fat is low. Likewise large-framed people will experience similar results.

So in summary, don't bother with Body Mass Index unless you are checking the health of a population. When you want to know where you stand and check your progress, determine your body fat percentage. Remember that women are designed to carry a higher percentage of fat than men, and the tools are only accurate when comparing previous measurements.