Monthly Health Articles Archive

Get to know your Body Mass Index

School is back in session, so it’s time to practice your arithmetic.  Do you know how to figure your Body Mass Index?   The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization suggest using the Body Mass Index, or BMI, number as a reliable indicator of body fat.  This number can be used to screen for weight issues that may eventually lead to health problems.  Determining your BMI is just as important as knowing your cholesterol, blood pressure and other numbers that help you assess your overall health.

To calculate your BMI, you first need to find our both your height and weight.  To determine your number, take your weight in pounds, divided by your height (in inches), divided by your height again and multiplied by 703.  The number you end up with is your Body Mass Index.  The National Institute of Health suggests the following for BMI scores:

• Underweight: below 18.5
• Normal: 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight: 25 to 29.9
• Obese: 30 and above

You can also go to the Centers for Disease Control website to have it calculated for you at http://www.cdc.gov/. 

BMI scores will vary depending on whether a person is male or female, young or old. Highly trained athletes will often have a high BMI due to an increased amount of muscle, rather than an increased amount of body fat.  Generally speaking, women tend to have more body fat than men and older adults usually have more body fat than younger adults.

Obesity rates are growing in Iowa, and several disease have been linked to this rising health problem.  Overweight and obese individuals have an increased risk of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and even some forms of cancer, such as endometrial, breast and colon cancer.

While it’s a good idea to be aware of your weight and your BMI, it is just one factor related to your overall health.  To assess a person’s likelihood of developing obesity-related health issues, it’s recommended to also consider the individual’s waist circumference (as abdominal fat is a risk for weight-related diseases), blood pressure, and the person’s level of physical activity.

For more information about Body Mass Index and obesity-related diseases, contact your health care professional or Kossuth Regional Health Center at 515.295.2451.

-Amber Carlson, R.N. is a business health nurse at Kossuth Regional Health Center