Understanding the Body Mass Index (BMI)

Everyone has their own idea in mind for what their ideal body weight would be. Some of those expectations come from our own personal experience, such as the weight we were when we considered ourselves to be in the best shape of our lives. Sadly many of our body image issues and lofty goals come from the media, unrealistic depictions of what the perfect woman or man should look like. We forget that the men and women magazines depict as being beautiful have a team of people working with them to help project these images. The other source we might go to, and in my opinion the only source that matters, are medical standards of what is a healthy weight for our bodies. Our body weight can affect many aspects of our health, put us at risk for certain disease or help prevent others. Of all the influences that are out there I feel that health related sources for ideal weights are the most reliable. Our memory of what we used to be or our weight from when we were in "the best shape of our life" might be unrealistic because as we get older our bodies change, our schedules change, and the things we used to do to be at the weight we once were just aren't realistic.

Our family and friends are great cheerleaders, most of the time, but it's too easy to not believe family or friends when they tell you that you look great because let's face it we all think the same thing, "They are your family and friends so they are supposed to tell you that." But medical and health related tools are unbiased. They don't care who you are, what you used to look like, or what the media thinks. Their only concern is that you are at a healthy weight.

There are many different health related sources out there some more accurate than others, but some also more easy to use and understand than others. One source many fitness sites offer is one of the simplest tools to help you determine your ideal body weight. The Body Mass Index (BMI). Many sites offer free BMI calculators in which all you have to do is input your height an weight and they determine where you fall on the BMI index.

The numbers differ slightly from site to sight but in general when one looks at an BMI chart or uses a BMI calculator a score below 19 indicates that you are underweight, between 19 - 24 is considered "normal" (I personally do not like the word normal as a descriptor for anything, but that's the classification they use.) A BMI score between 25 - 29 is considered overweight. 30 - 39 is considered obese, and 40 or above is considered extremely obese sometimes referred to as morbidly obese. This information is all really great, but it doesn't really give you a goal weight to focus on for your height. In order to determine a healthy goal weight it's best to look at a BMI chart instead of just using a calculator.

This image of a BMI chart was taken from the Fort Worth Lap-Band website.
 http://www.fortworthlapband.com/BMIChart.aspx

I chose this image mostly because I feel that it is the easiest to understand and includes weight for every height between 4'10" and 6'4" instead of every other inch like some of the other charts do. As you can see from this chart there is quite a range of weight for each height that is considered "normal" or healthy. Basically, one's goal reach a body weight that puts them in the GREEN column.

For example, I am 5'3" and am currently 152.5lbs. which as you can see, still puts me in the "overweight" category. Which is much better than the 175 I was in August of 2011 when I first began my weight loss journey. Note that the "Normal" weight for someone of my height is between 107 and 135. That's almost a 30 pound weight range. The reason there is such a big gap is because there are many body types out there and BMI indexes cannot differentiate between weight from muscle and weight from fat. This is where your have to use a little bit of common sense and honesty with yourself. I know from experience that I will never see 107lbs. I haven't been 107lbs since I was in middle school. When I was the thinnest I ever was in my adult life I was 117lbs and only had 14 % body fat (as indicated by a skin fold calipers test). But I was also on an alarmingly low calorie diet (at the time I didn't realize how unhealthy it was) lifting every day, and running every other day. To lose enough weight to get to the lower end of he "normal" range of BMI for my height I would have had to lose muscle mass. So, instead my goal weight comes from a more realistic and healthy version of me when I was in college. For the majority of my adult life I had been around 125 pounds. Which as you can see puts me well within the "normal" range for my height. And was the result of working out regularly and eating a healthy diet.

There are other health related tools you can use to help you determine your ideal weight such as the skin fold caliper test I mentioned, if you can find someone who is trained in how to accurately use them. There are other more sophisticated and expensive tools uses by professional athletes and other health professions, but the BMI charts and calculators are the best tool for the average person. As long as you keep in mind that weight is not the most important factor. That is why most fitness sites encourage you to take other measurements such as waist and hip measurements or heart rate tests.

I have included links to several websites that offer free BMI calculator from sites associated with the health issues or diseases that can result from being overweight and of course the

 The Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institute of Health
 http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/


American Institute for Cancer Research
http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/weight/tools_bmi_calculator.html?gclid=CPmbpt7BxawCFcZM4AodkVbtqg

You can also find many other BMI calculators and charts by using your favorite search engine.

Don't get hung up on the young girl or guy you used to be.
Don't let the media tell you what your ideal body weight is.
Set realistic goals and aim to be healthy!