Body Mass Index (BMI)
Knowing our BMI is one way to look at our overall health
What is BMI?
BMI is a screening tool based on height and weight that helps health care providers evaluate weight categories that may lead to health problems in their patients. BMI is calculated by taking the person's weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of their height in meters.
BMI categories include:
Underweight
(BMI of 18.5 kg/m2 or less)
Normal Weight
(BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2)
Overweight
(BMI of 25-29.9 kg/m2)
Obesity
(BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater)
Another measurement a health care provider may use to start the conversation about weight is waist circumference, which is considered by some experts to be an important measurement when evaluating the health of certain patients.
How is BMI used?
BMI is a screening tool used by health care providers to evaluate a patient's weight category based on their height and weight. While BMI is not the only measure of health, it is one of the tools a health care provider will use to assess your overall health.
Your BMI can help to diagnose whether you are living with obesity and guide a health care provider in determining appropriate treatment options to help with managing weight.
Calculating BMI
Know your BMI before your next appointment as a starting point when talking about weight management with a health care provider.
Bodies come in all shapes and sizes, so BMI may not always be an accurate measure of overall health
- On average, women have more body fat compared with men with a similar BMI
- People with a muscular build, such as athletes or bodybuilders, may have a higher BMI even though they may be healthy overall
- As people get older, they naturally lose muscle definition and tend to have more body fat, which may affect their BMI
If you're unsure of how to talk about weight management with a health care provider, complete the TrueWeight® Report to record your weight history and goals for the future, so you’re prepared for your next visit.
