Body Mass Index is the relationship of height and weight associated with body fat and health risks. The BMI is used to determine individualized overweight and obesity to help show the relationship between a person’s body weight and disease risk. Unless a person is extremely underweight, disease risk increases as weight increases.

BMI Ranges: ^[1]

• A body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy.
• A person with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight.
• A person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

The mathematical formula for finding a person’s BMI is:

BMI =	weight in pounds times 703
	height in inches times height in inches

Body Mass Index:

• BMI measures your height-weight ratio.
• BMI is based upon standard guidelines for determining normal weight in relation to your height and gender.
• To automatically calculate your BMI in the HiGS, you first enter your gender, height, and weight in the designated boxes on the front page of the HiGSHealth web site. When you click to calculate your BMI, your results will display to show the range in which your body fat and health risk information falls – underweight, normal, overweight, or obese.
• If your BMI does not fall within the normal range for your gender, weight, and height, you can begin a plan to change bad habits and your lifestyle to preserve your health and prevent and delay disease, beginning by assessing yourself for Metabolic Syndrome. HiGS Lifestyle and Habits History will also provide insight to your daily life patterns.
• Even if your BMI does fall within the normal range for your gender, weight, and height, you can evaluate yourself throughout the HiGS, starting with HiGS Lifestyle and Habits History and HiGS Metabolic Syndrome Assessment and Screening to learn more to preserve your health and prevent and delay disease.
• Learning about Metabolic Syndrome and assessing yourself for Metabolic Syndrome and your lifestyle and habits are good next steps to plan for having health.
• BMI is calculated by pounds weighed and feet and inches in height measured. Many parts of the world use kilogram and meter measurements. BMI equals body weight in kilograms and height in meters squared. The mass of an object in kilograms is often referred to as its weight, although technically the weight of something is the gravitational force in it. ^[2]
• To convert pounds to kilograms multiply pounds (avdp) by 0.45359237 to find kilograms. Note: Conveying personal weight or heaviness, avdp from Anglo-French literally stands for avoir de pois, meaning goods sold by weight, of weight. ^[3]
• To convert feet to meters multiply feet by 0.3048 to find meters. A meter is a measure of length in the metric system used around the world. ^[4]
• To convert inches to millimeters multiply inches by 25.4 to find millimeters. ^[5]

Whether tracked using inches, feet, and pounds or millimeters, meters, and kilograms, keeping track of your BMI is one very important thing you can do for your health. Staying within the normal ranges is fundamental for preserving health and preventing disease.

References:

1.	"Weight and Waist Measurements: Tool for Adults" NIDDK Weight-control Information Network. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; National Institutes of Health.
2.	"FEDERAL STANDARD 376B: PREFERRED METRIC UNITS FOR GENERAL USE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT". United Kingdom General Services Administration. January, 27, 1993
3.	"Can you help me convert a measurement to metric?". National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) United States government. Accessed at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/faqs/qmetric.htm on August 22, 2008.
4.	ibid., 3.
5.	ibid., 3.