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What is your BMI? "BMI, which stands for Body Mass Index, isn't exactly a household word, but you should know why it's important. BMI is a figure calculated from your height and weight. It has been proposed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and The World Health Organization as a method for defining obesity. Your BMI is an important health tool because your weight alone doesn't tell the whole story. If your BMI is too high, you're at greater risk than people with a normal BMI to die prematurely from chronic health problems. Examples of chronic health problems are high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, respiratory problems, and endometrial, breast, prostrate and colon cancer, the NIH says. Conditions associated with being overweight are the second-leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Smoking is the first. Knowing your BMI is no longer strictly for adults. To combat the rising obesity rate among children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also published BMI charts for children. Making sense of the numbers BMI = [Weight in pounds ÷ Height in inches ÷ Height in inches] x 703. For example: A person who weighs 210 pounds and is 6 feet tall would have a BMI = 210 pounds divided by 72 inches divided by 72 inches multiplied by 703 = 28.5. According to the NIH, your BMI score means the following:
Millions of Americans are overweight or obese, according to the NIH, which says obesity "poses a major health challenge." This serious health problem has doubled in adults since 1980 and tripled in children and teenagers, according to federal statistics from the National Health and Nutrition Survey. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says seven of every 10 overweight children ages 10 to 13 will likely have weight problems as adults. However, BMI charts for children give pediatricians a better tool to identify potential weight problems at an early age. These BMI charts are more accurate than the weight-to-stature charts that pediatricians have been using since 1977 for boys younger than 12 and girls age 10 and under, according to the CDC. BMI calculations are done differently for children than for adults." Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Body Mass Index. |
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