Why are BMIs useful ?

Calculate your BMI

Use our BMI calculator to see how healthy your weight is in relation to height.

Body Mass Index ( BMI) assesses your weight relative to your height. It could provide a reliable indicator of whether your weight is in the upper, middle, below or within the range of a healthy. Use our BMI Calculator tool to find out how health your weight is in relation to your height.https://www.medibank.com.au/content/dam/livebetter/en/calculators/bmi.html

What are the implications of the results?

BMI Chart for Australia

BMI Range	Category
Below 18.5	Underweight
18.5 - 24.9	Healthy weight
25.0 - 29.9	Overweight
30.0 and above	Obese

If your BMI falls within 18.5 or 24.9, it indicates you are within the normal healthy weight category.

Source: The World Health Organization

Two adults who are exactly the same height are unlikely to weigh the same amount. This is because the weight of a person is dependent on factors like bone structure (small medium or large frame) as well as the amount of body fat compared to denser muscle.

Body Mass Index ( BMI) evaluates your weight in relation to your height. This can be an excellent indicator of whether your weight is above or below the healthy range.

BMI is calculated by:

• Divide the weight(kg) with your height(m)
• Divide the answer by your height(m) and again to calculate your BMI

If your BMI is higher than 25, then you fall in the category of overweight. As your weight climbs over an acceptable range, increase in body fat is connected with a higher likelihood of developing health issues such as high blood pressure, high LDL cholesterol levels, type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease and stroke and certain types of cancer. A BMI less than 18.5 is regarded as being underweight . In the event that the low body weight is a consequence of a reduced food intake and inadequate intake of nutrients, then it is probable.

Does it always reflect the truth? It's essential to recognize that BMI is merely a guide for healthy weight ranges and health risk in adults. It doesn't always provide the complete picture. Individuals with higher amounts of muscle, such as athletes and body builders, could be mistakenly classified as overweight. Also, those with smaller frames and lower amounts of muscle mass, including the elderly and some ethnic groups, might be considered to be a healthy weight even though they are carrying extra weight for their body kind. BMI can be a much better indicator of health status when it is paired along with Waist Hip Rate, which measures where the body fat is dispersed.