Are you overweight or obese? Know your BMI

Posted by admin on Mar 25, 2011 in Blog | 17,153 comments

Just as many people don’t understand why they should keep a healthy weight, many may not really know if they are overweight, or by how much. Anyone who has watched The Biggest Loser, or other weight-loss shows, knows there are several ways to determine how “over” weight you are. However, one of the simplest and most common ways remains using the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is a chart that uses your height and weight to determine your approximate body mass. Cross-referencing your data in the chart gives you a number that is your BMI rating. These numbers break down in the following way:

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
26 – 29.9 Overweight
30 – 34.9 Obese (Class I)
35 – 39.9 Severely Obese (Class II)
40 plus Massively (or Super) Obese (Class III)

The chart is not perfect – not taking into account male or female, or the differences in skeletal frame and musculature. For example, a 6’ 4”, big-boned Samoan who plays rugby professionally might weigh a lot, but be very muscular and fit. His BMI level will still appear high. Looking at the BMI table, being 76 inches and weighing over 250 lbs puts our Samoan at a BMI of over 30–obese. However, his actual fat to muscle ratio is very low. He’s all muscle. This won’t apply to most readers however! In general, for the rest of us, your BMI is an approximation. However, your BMI reading is considered a fairly reliable baseline to see if you need to pay more attention to your weight (and health) or not.

For those who find even BMI is too complicated, another good rule of thumb is that you are overweight if you weigh 20 pounds more than the weight tables suggest is ideal; obese if overweight by 50 pounds, and severely obese if you are 80 pounds overweight.

Let’s assume you are now convinced you might need to take your weight and health more seriously? Well, the next step would be to learn about what you can do to start a L.E.A.N. lifestyle – Living Educated About Nutrition on the GO! As a business traveler you have a unique way of living and you will require a unique set of solutions. You will need to explore and experiment with different ways you can be pro-active with your health. I believe this begins with understanding some basics about nutrition. READ MORE IN MY UPCOMING BOOK…