How much fat are you storing on your body?
How much fat are you storing on your body? The body mass index or bmi can help you determine this. The number you get, once evaluated; will help signify if you’re in danger of developing heart disease by establishing if you are overweight or underweight.
You can use these numbers to evaluate your BMI level:
- Any number below 18.5 shows underweight.
- Any number of 18.5 – 24.9 shows normal weight.
- Any number of 25.0 – 29.9 shows overweight.
- Any number of 30.0 or above shows obesity.
As well as evaluating body fat, BMI takes into account your weight as it relates to height, and your waist size. Other factors that are considered:
- Sugar
- Blood Pressure
- Triglycerides
- Cholesterol
- Lifestyle (Are you active? Are you sedentary?)
- Heart Disease in your family
- Smoking
Your doctor can have a test done to find your Body Mass Index. Then, they will go over your BMI, your waist circumference, and other contributors for risk of disease. The National Institutes of Health has information on the importance of waist measurement, but they indicate that if your waist is over 40 inches (for a man) or 35 inches (for a woman), you might be in danger of disease. They also have an image that shows the correct way to measure your waist.
High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer and diabetes all feature characteristics of a high body mass index. If you lose 10 percent of body fat, you can reduce the possibility of contracting these diseases.
There are BMI calculators all over the web, so you can get a pretty good idea where you stand with your weight. For a correct diagnosis, however, you should see your doctor.
If you think you’re overweight, look into the body mass index test and see what classification you fall under. If you’re an athlete, or you are very muscular, your classification may be high. If you’ve lost muscle mass, you may get a lower number.
