Published on: 7/15/2025
How is BMI used to determine if someone is overweight?
BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a number calculated from a person's height and weight and is used to see if someone is overweight. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 means a person is considered overweight.
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Explanation
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple way to find out if someone is overweight by using their height and weight. It is a number that helps doctors and researchers categorize people based on their weight compared to their height.
How BMI is Calculated: To find BMI, you take a person's weight in kilograms and divide it by their height in meters squared.
Categories: According to the studies, a BMI of 25 to 29.9 means a person is overweight. A BMI of 30 or more means they are considered obese.
Why It's Used: BMI is widely used because it's easy to calculate and doesn't require expensive equipment. However, it doesn't always perfectly measure body fat or health. Some people may have a high BMI because they have a lot of muscle, not because they have too much fat.
Using BMI helps doctors and researchers keep track of weight problems in the population, which can help in planning health programs and understanding health risks related to weight.
(References)
- Klatsky AL, Zhang J, Udaltsova N, Li Y, & Tran HN. (2017). Body Mass Index and Mortality in a Very Large Cohort. The Permanente journal, 28678695.
- Flegal KM, Kit BK, & Graubard BI. (2014). Body mass index categories in observational studies .... American journal of epidemiology, 24893710.
- Karchynskaya V, Kopcakova J, Klein D, Gába A, Madarasova-Geckova A, van Dijk JP, et al. (2020). Is BMI a Valid Indicator of Overweight and Obesity for .... International journal of environmental research and public health, 32635439.
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