Second Course – Use caution when analyzing your BMI
January 16, 2010
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a score that most of us have probably heard about but are generally unaware what it means. To simplify, your BMI score will determine whether you are characterized as underweight, average weight, overweight, or obese. There is a simple calculation that must be completed in order to determine your particular BMI (weight in pounds)/(height in inches*height in inches) * 703), but it is important to understand that you should take additional factors into consideration before considering yourself as obese or underweight, etc. This measure generally takes your height and weight into consideration but fails to consider whether you are heavily muscular or assess the BMI based upon your type of build. For instance, a muscular man who is 6′1″ tall and 200 pounds will have a higher BMI than a less muscular man of the same height simply due to the fact that muscle weighs more than fat and therefore he will weigh more. However, that doesn’t mean that the muscular man is in any worse shape. Just remember to use caution when analyzing your personal BMI.
