What is BMI?
Calculating your BMI is a simple way to check if your weight is healthy for your height. It can help you understand if you are classified as overweight and provide a starting point for how much weight you might want to lose.
Remember, BMI is just a quick guide. It doesn’t look at other things that can affect your weight, like muscle mass, fat mass, bone density, or water weight. For example, athletes might have a high BMI due to their muscle mass rather than body fat. Older people might have a lower BMI despite having more body fat, due to a loss of muscle mass. BMI may also underestimate health risks for some ethnic groups or overestimate for others.
For a clearer picture of your health, you might also consider other measures like your waist size or waist-to-hip ratio, as carrying extra fat around your waist can increase health risks.