BMI (body mass index) is often used by health care professionals as a guide in determining a person's propensity for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It has been formulated to correlate just how much body fat a normal person has on their body. But does that number, the so called golden number to which everyone subscribes to measure our health, really tell the whole truth? Let's begin by talking about what BMI is all about. Women and men, for some strange reason that I have never understood, use the same BMI charts to tell if they have an excessive amount of fat or not. If you calculate your BMI and the number is greater than 25 you are by today's standard considered an overweight person. And, if you've achieved the "magic" number that so many Americans have put themselves into these days, i.e., your calculated value is 30, you are - now this gets nasty - considered to be OBESE. How do you get these numbers? It's easy to calculate BMI. First you take your weight in pounds then divide that by your height in inches squared, and multiply that by 703. Huh! You said what? Let's take an example. It would look like this: say you weigh 150 pounds and are 5 feet 6 inches in height - that's 66 inches. Multiply 66 inches by 66 inches and you get 4356. Not so hard is it? Now take that number and divide it into 150 - the result is .034435 and a whole bunch of other numbers. So let's just call it .0344. Now multiply .0344 by 703 and you have your BMI of 24.2. See you've sneaked in at just under the "Oh NO" number of 25. Here's a short cut. As simple as this calculation is, it's easier to go online and type in BMI calculator into your search engine. Dozens of websites will show up with "calculate BMI" and you can just type in your weight and height and voilą you have your very own BMI number. Even easier, go to our website listed below to use our BMI calculator at the bottom of the page - it's easy and of course, it's FREE. BMI are reasonably good estimations for the average person, the keyword here is average. But what if you were a body builder and you weighed 210 pounds, had a 6-pack abdomen that people envy every summer, and were 6 feet tall? Using BMI calculations, it would tell us on paper that that person would be very much overweight with a BMI of 28. Yet, in looking at this person you marvel at every muscle group on his body, there isn't a perceived ounce of fat. The question becomes is he healthy? That's where body fat percentage comes in- measuring the actual fat a person has on his body. Actual body fat can be measured in many different ways. Three of the most popular being calipers, where skin fold measurements are taken on various points on the body. This method is very accurate but does not take into account internal fat (visceral fat) that one may have on their internal organs (yes, we have fat on the inside of our bodies). Another common method used today are body fat monitors (also called bioelectrical impedance analyzers, BIA for short), both hand held, and step-on scale types. They work by sending a minute electrical pulse through your body. The resistance the electrical current encounters as it passes through the body and scientific formulas determine how much body fat you have. BIA accuracy is marginal at best as the results vary with daily living conditions such as hydration (how much water you have in your body), food consumption, time of day and many other factors. However, fat monitors do have their place and is a great simple way to manage your body fat based on a running average. A third way to measure body fat uses underwater scales to measure a person when he is dry and subsequently when submerged in water. The theory is that solid lean mass such as bones and muscle sink, and fat floats. If one takes the difference in weight measurement between wet and dry you can then calculate your fat percentage. Very accurate, but requires specialized expensive equipment that the average person can't afford or has the room for in his house. There are other means of measuring body fat percentage but I have given you the three most popular. The World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health have standards for body fat which change between men and women and between age groups. For example, a 30 year old man should have a body fat percentage of between 8-19%, whereas, a woman of that same age should be between 21-35%. These two health groups differentiate between the two genders. Why, because there is an obvious difference in all aspects between a man and woman and their body compositions. My take is that body fat percentage is more accurate than BMI but only if the numbers that have been derived are reasonable accurate. For the average person, BMI is easier to calculate requiring no special scales, no calipers, and no impedance analyzers. BMI allows everyone to get a handle on keeping themselves healthy. So getting back to our weight lifter, Joe 6-pack. Even without taking any measurements you can estimate that his body fat is a mere 10%. Why? Because a person's body fat percentage has to be that low to see abdominal muscles. So Joe 6-pack is certainly not overweight by any stretch of the imagination in terms of "evil" fat that would destroy his health. Is he aerobically fit - is his heart strong? Well, that's another story for another article. The point here is that Joe 6-pack has little "evil" body fat which, by most medical criteria today, makes him a healthy individual. I keep saying "evil" fat because if you come away from this article with nothing else, remember that fat doesn't just sit on your body, it's not cute, and it's not something to laugh at - fat produces and releases toxins that could eventually destroy your health. My original question asked: "Does BMI tell the whole story? As you can see it doesn't. Big and heavy is not necessarily overweight and fat. And, we haven't discussed this but; one can actually have a normal BMI and have too much fat. In this situation, a person has no lean mass, no muscle, just fat (think couch potato). So use the BMI numbers as a guide. Exercise at least 5 times a week, eat right, and get plenty of sleep. The numbers, be it BMI or body fat percentage, will fall into place and you will live life with zest, quality and enjoyment.
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Everyone is concerned about their BMI number - but what is BMI all about? Does it tell the whole story? For the average person this calculation of body fat is sufficient to gauge their health status. But it's not for everyone. A person can indeed be big with a high BMI and still be very healthy.
Sul Man is retired and owns Shop Weight Loss Products.Com. He is a past certified personal trainer and has spent his life maintaining his body through exercise. Once an avid runner and marathoner, at age 62, he still rides his bicycle more than 2000 miles per season in the cold short summers of New England. Visit us at Shop Weight Loss Products.Com where you can use our FREE BMI Calculator and see our full line of health products.
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