Determining Your Body Mass Index

What is body mass index?

Determining how much you should weigh is not a simple matter of looking at an insurance height-weight chart, but includes considering the amount of bone, muscle, and fat in your body's composition. The amount of fat is the critical measurement.

A good indicator of how much fat you carry is the Body Mass Index (BMI). Although it is not a perfect measure, it gives a fairly accurate assessment of how much of your body is composed of fat.

To calculate your BMI:

• Take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2 to determine your weight in kilograms. This is your "weight number."

• Next, convert your height in inches into height in centimeters by multiplying the number of inches by 2.54.
  
  
  • Divide your height in centimeters by 100 (there are 100 centimeters per meter).
    
    
  • Next, square your height in meters by multiplying the sum by itself. This number is your "height number."
    
    
• Now, divide your weight number by your height number.

A BMI between 25 and 29 is considered overweight. Anything over 30 is considered obese.

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