Though one of the most popular tools used nowadays to see whether someone is at a balanced weight or not is the BMI, body fat and lean muscle mass do not figure into the formula. This has led numerous experts to discount BMI as an old school measurement that isn’t specific for many people. What is BMI, and why is it a great measure for some, maybe, and totally wrong for other people?
BMI, or body mass index, was created in the early 1800s by Adolphe Quetelet. Due to that, it is sometimes known as the Quetelet index. It’s simply a means of contrasting an individual’s weight to his or her height, and determining if his or her weight falls right into a healthy and normal range. The BMI is still utilized today pretty much as it was when Quetelet developed it.
The formulation for calculating BMI (body fat, bone and frame size, muscle and body type aren’t included in that) is this: Take your height in meters squared (your height times itself) and divide your weight in kilos by that number. For instance, if I’m 5 feet tall, that is about 1.5 meters. To square that amount, take 1.5 times 1.5. The consequence of that is 2.5. Therefore if I weigh 120 pounds, that may be about 54.5 kgs. Divide 54.5 by 2.5 and I get 21.8 as my BMI. The conventional weight range is from 18.5 to 24.9, so 21.8 are categorized as a normal weight. Underweight is recognized as 18.5 and below, while obese individuals will calculate a BMI of 25 to 29.9. A BMI of 30 or greater indicates being overweight.
BMI, body fat and general health can all be used as indicators of how fit one is. But where general health is quite self-explanatory plus the portion of body fat plainly shows regardless of whether a person will get adequate exercise or not, BMI is a bit trickier.
People with lots of muscle don’t show accurate BMI readings. Since muscle weighs a lot weightier as compared to fat but takes up less space, a relatively small statured person can hold lots of muscle weight without looking huge. Body mass index does not take that into account. Football players, professional wrestlers, muscle builders, and virtually any athlete who has a lot of muscle is going to measure as weighty and even obese based on the BMI. Therefore it is not correct for them. Is it accurate for everybody else?
The reply to that is yes, and no. This will depend on you. The BMI usually does not display a precise result for kids. And very tall or large-framed people will show heavy or obese categories easier due to the extra weight from their bones and muscles. So for very small, tall or muscle bound people, the Body mass index appears to not be a good tool.
Additionally, there is no differentiating between men and women inside the BMI. Body Fat is more natural for ladies who are supposed to have more than men, so some form of distinction in the measurement within the sexes might help the BMI’s accuracy
Koya Webb is an affable and confident model, athlete, celebrity, and holistic lifestyle coach who is convinced that balance is the key to have a good life. Koya’s Raw fitness model and Health and fitness Training Online is a program designed to enhance health and well being by individualized fitness and holistic nutrition plans.