| 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 25-29 is considered overweight. Anything over 30 is considered obese.
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