Body Mass Index

What is BMI ?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number and it is calculated from a person’s weight and height.
BMI provides a reliable indicator of body fatness and is used to categorise whether people have healthy weight or they are
overweight or obese or underweight. Excess body fat is linked to an increased risk of some diseases including heart
disease and some cancers.

Doctors and other healthcare professionals use BMI to determine whether
a person is overweight or clinically obese. According to one of the statistics published in the Health Survey of England 2004, show that almost a quarter of adults are obese. This means they have a greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, stroke and certain cancers (breast and colon).

Other health problems related to having too much fat around the body include a greater chance of developing osteoarthritis (wear and tear) of the joints and emotional problems.



Adults and BMI
Your BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. The result you get is then
classified into the following groups


A BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered healthy.

If you have a BMI of more than 25 to 29.9 you are overweight.

BMI over 30 is an indicator of obesity.

Over 40 is morbidly obese.


Example how to calculate your BMI:

To calculate your BMI, you'll need to know your weight in kilos and your height in metres, then follow the example below.

a). Lets say your height is 1.67 meters. So Multiply your height by itself, eg 1.67x1.67= 2.78.

b). Divide your weight (for example 62.5 kg) by this figure.

c). 62.5 ÷ 2.78= 22.48

So your BMI is 22.48.