Obesity and overweight is an important public health problem that has become epidemic have reached epidemic proportions globally and been associated with a range of serious health consequences. If you become obese, you are more likely to develop health problems around heart disease, diabetes, etc. You also put a lot of pressure on to your joints.
Did you know that if you gain 0.5 kg in weight you put 2 kg of pressure on your knees? People who are obese are 8 times for likely to develop knee arthritis as they get older. Being underweight can also affect your health especially things like osteoporosis and fertility
.
Understanding Body Mass Index:
BMI, formerly called the Quetelet index, is a measure for indicating nutritional status in adults. It is defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of the person’s height in metres (kg/m2). In other words, Body Mass Index or BMI is a way of checking to see if you are a healthy weight. BMI uses your height and weight to calculate if you are a healthy weight, overweight or underweight.
History:
BMI is veryeasy to measure and calculate and is therefore the most commonly used tool to correlate risk of health problems with the weight at population level. It was developed by Adolphe Quetelet during the 19th century. During the 1970s and based especially on the data and report from the Seven Countries study, researchers noticed that BMI appeared to be a good proxy for adiposity and overweight related problems.
Like any other measure it is not perfect because it is only dependant on height and weight and it does not take into consideration different levels of adiposity based on age, physical activity levels and sex. For this reason it is expected that it overestimates adiposity in some cases and underestimates it in others.
Other measures, such as waist circumference (WC), can complement BMI estimates. Association between WC and health risks is not an easy task and should be done scientifically using proper techniques.
Weight yourself correctly: Take your weight first thing in the morning, with an empty stomach and bladder. Weigh yourself in your bare feet and get your weight in kilograms.
Take your height: Stand tall in your bare feet. Look straight ahead with your feet together and your heels against the wall. Have a friend gently lower a ruler onto your head and then mark your height on the wall with a light pencil. Use a tape measure and measure your height in meters.
For adults over 20 years old, BMI falls into one of the following categories.
|
BMI |
Nutritional status |
|
Below 18.5 |
Underweight |
|
18.5–24.9 |
Normal weight |
|
25.0–29.9 |
Pre-obesity |
|
30.0–34.9 |
Obesity class I |
|
35.0–39.9 |
Obesity class II |
|
Above 40 |
Obesity class III |
People come in all shapes and sizes. This is why there is a wide range of weights-for-heights in each category. This helps to take into account a smaller or larger frame for people who are the same height.
What does being a healthy weight mean?
Sometimes people are confused about BMI. It is important to remember that BMI has nothing to do with what you look like! A slim person with a lot of muscle can have a higher BMI than and larger person with a lower BMI whose weight mainly comes from fat.
BMI is a health index
Someone whose BMI is between 18.5 and 25 has a healthy weight. People with BMIs between 18.5 and 25 have less chance of developing diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. As BMI goes up, the chances of developing these diseases also increases. The risk for these diseases particularly goes up once BMI is over 30. This is one of the reasons that it is useful to try to reduce your BMI if you are in the obese category.
