How is the body mass index or BMI calculated?

Calculating body mass index is one of the simplest ways to identify if you have problems like being overweight or obese. Although it is not a 100% accurate measure, it provides enough indications for you to know if you should consult a doctor about your case. bariatric.

In this post, we explain how to calculate your body mass index, why you should know it, and discuss how reliable it is for detecting overweight issues.

How do you calculate BMI?

Body Mass Index, or BMI, is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared:

Weight (kg) ÷ Height (m) squared = BMI

Assuming you weigh 80 kg and are 1.72 m tall, the calculation would be like this:

80 ÷ (1.72)² = BMI

80 / 2.95 = 27.11

While it's a simple formula, nowadays there are many online calculators that can give you your BMI by simply entering data such as your weight and height.

Why should you know your BMI?

Knowing your BMI is important Because it is one of the most immediate ways to detect problems with your weight. While in severe cases, such as morbid obesity, it may be evident, in milder cases of overweight you may not notice the problem until it becomes serious and begins to harm your health.

Why is BMI taken into account?

Knowing your BMI is a simple way to understand if your weight is within what's considered healthy. Although there are other ways to know if you have overweight issues, they usually require a doctor to study your case in person, so they are not as useful and simple options as BMI.

How reliable is BMI as an indicator of your body fat?

En general, es un indicador muy fiable del nivel de grasa corporal que tiene una persona, pero eso no significa que tenga una precisión del 100%. De hecho, en el caso de atletas o personas con músculos muy desarrollados, cabe la posibilidad de que el IMC sea elevado pero por sobrepeso.

Therefore, BMI should be taken for what it is: an indicator. Its purpose is to provide indications of potential overweight problems, even when they are not obvious or have not caused health issues.

But the final diagnosis should always be left to a specialist like a bariatrician.

What BMI levels should you be concerned about?

A BMI over 25 should be a cause for concern, as it indicates that you are overweight. If your BMI is over 30, you would be suffering from obesity, and a BMI above 40 indicates morbid obesity. So any number above 25 in your BMI should be a cause for concern.

What to do if you have a very high BMI?

If you have an BMI that indicates overweight, you can make gradual changes to your physical activity, diet, and lifestyle to return to healthy weight levels. 

However, in more extreme cases, such as can occur with obesity when it causes illnesses like diabetes, a change in habits may not be enough to regain your health. 

In these types of situations, it is advisable to have your case evaluated by a bariatrician and explore options such as gastric sleeve or the gastric balloon, it's more likely that they will allow you to achieve the weight loss you need to return to your ideal weight and eliminate your obesity.

If you're struggling with being overweight and aren't achieving results, get in touch with our team., and we will show you which treatment is best for you to lose all excess weight.