Obesity is one of the leading health problems in the United States. Obesity in adults can lead to hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and even some cancers. It is very important for people to maintain their weight to avoid health problems. An easy way to test to see if you are overweight and in danger of future problems is by assessing your body's BMI.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is the number used to represent a person's weight and height. For most people, BMI is a reliable way to calculate body fat, but does not directly measure body fat. Calculating a person's BMI is not a direct measure of body fat, but it does function as an inexpensive and easy way to assess body fat and screen for weight categories that may lead to later health problems.
BMI is thought of as more of a preliminary test to show weight problems. After a person's BMI is measured, doctors can assess weather or not they need to do further testing such as skinfold thickness measurements and appropriate health screenings or gather more information such as evaluations of diet, physical activity, and family history.
Though it is indirect, organizations like the Center for Disease Control use BMI because it is one of the best ways to calculate and assess obesity statistics for large populations. It is also beneficial because it is a standard way to measuring the norm. BMI is easy for a person to calculate and compare his or her own Body Mass Index against the average rates. BMI can also be converted between kilograms and meters or pounds and inches to compare international rates.
The formula for measuring BMI for adults 20 years and older in pounds is by dividing weight in pounds by height in inches squared and multiplying by conversion factor of 703. Though BMI is generally accurate, there are correlation variations between race, gender, sex and age. At the same BMI, women can often times have more body fat than men and older people also tend to have more body fat than younger adults. Athletes may also have a distorted BMI due to increases in muscularity rather than body fat.
To fill these gaps, there are different formulas for to calculate the BMI for children and teens. The CDC website has a virtual calculator that will specifically calculate BMI for children 2-19 relating to age and sex.
Neville Street is the Administrative Director for Rodriquez MD, a bilingual medical practice in Lawrenceville, GA that provides health care to infants, children, adolescents and adults. Lawrenceville doctors Deborah and Veronica Rodriguez are sisters with a combined 27 years of experience. The doctors are Board Certified in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine and both Gwinnett physicians have extensive experience working in private practice.
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