What is body mass index? how important is it to health?

Everyone must know their own body mass index. Body mass index is a detection tool that is usually done in advance to determine whether a person is at risk of developing chronic disease or not. Then, how do you calculate it?

What is body mass index?

Body mass index is a measure used to determine a person's nutritional status which is obtained from a comparison of weight and height. Therefore, everyone must calculate their BMI value in order to know whether their body's nutritional status is normal or not.

The calculation of BMI is to divide body weight (in kilograms) by height (in meters squared). For example, suppose you weigh 68 kg and are 165 cm (16.5 meters) tall.

So the BMI value you have is: 68 ÷ (1.65 × 1.65) = 24.98 Kg / m²

For convenience, you can find the body mass index value in this BMI calculator or on the following link bit.ly/indeksmassatubuh

Body mass index is the easiest way to find out whether a person is at risk of developing a chronic disease or not. Although this BMI value cannot be used to measure body fat levels, it is also important to know.

Body mass index is an assessment tool that can be done to help diagnose a disease. However, calculating BMI alone is not enough to establish a diagnosis of disease. Doctors usually recommend that you perform various other medical examinations.

How to read the results of the body mass index value?

If you have obtained a BMI value, then this figure shows your nutritional status which is categorized as follows:

Body mass index	Weight Status
Below 18.5	Less weight (underweight)
18.5 – 22.9	Normal or healthy
23.0 – 24.9	More weight (overweight)
25.0 and above	Obesity

These categories are the same for men and women of all body types and ages. However, for children and adolescents, body mass index needs to be calculated in a special way based on sex and age. This is because the amount of body fat changes with age and differs between girls and boys.

How to calculate body mass index for children?

To find out whether your little one has a good nutritional status, his body mass index must be calculated by medical personnel. The reason is, there are special methods and tables that are used as benchmarks to see the BMI values of children.

BMI of children is not the same as BMI of adults because children are still growing so their weight and height are unstable or constant. In Indonesia, the calculation of BMI for children under the age of 2 is based on a curve from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Meanwhile, children over 2 years of age can be seen from the WHO (World Health Organization) growth table.

So that, you should check your little one to the doctor to find out his condition and nutritional status. That way, you can find out whether your little one is thin, overweight, or normal.

Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.