Excess body fat has several effects on your health, including increasing your risk of chronic disease. Even though it’s not a full-proof way to determine your overall health and wellness, your BMI is a great tool to find out if your weight fits your height. The easiest way to figure this out is by using a BMI calculator.
At NuvidaRx Weight Loss - Tallahassee Clinic, our team offers a variety of treatments when you’re looking to lose weight for good. Dr. William Lantz Effinger is our weight loss specialist, who oversees the expert staff at our clinic. If your BMI is higher than you’d like, Dr. Effinger and his team can help.
Your body mass index is a tool that’s used to determine your overall body fat. This tool uses a calculation of your height and weight to determine if your weight is good for your height.
BMI is a common tool used by most healthcare providers to quickly determine the amount of fat in your body. However, in some cases, it’s not the most accurate way to determine your overall health.
Your BMI doesn’t take into account your muscle mass or other factors that could change the result. Muscle weighs more than fat, which the BMI calculator doesn’t assess.
However, this tool is still widely used because it’s relatively accurate in determining your personal risk of weight-related chronic disease. The team at NuvidaRx takes your BMI, along with other risk factors you have to determine how much weight you need to lose to remain healthy.
Our team typically uses other tools to determine your overall health as well. Along with your BMI, the team recommends a DEXA scan, weight circumference, or skin calipers to help figure out if your body fat is acceptable for your height.
The typical way medical professionals calculate BMI is by dividing your weight, measured in kilograms, by the square of your height. This is measured in meters.
As you can see, calculating your BMI requires quite a bit of math — which doesn’t make it easily accessible by yourself. Luckily, there’s BMI calculators to help you get a true BMI number.
Using a BMI calculator is the easiest way to determine if your weight is safe for your height. There are a number of BMI calculators out there, each using the same equation. You simply plug your height and weight into the calculator, and hit the “compute BMI” button.
Once the button is hit, your BMI results come up immediately. On our webpage, a reputable BMI calculator is located under the resources tab. This takes you to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s website, which gives you access to the BMI calculator and other important information.
So you’ve figured out how to use the BMI calculator, now what? Understanding your results is key for determining if you need to do something about your weight.
BMI ranges anywhere from underweight to obese, which is determined by specific numbers. These numbers are figured out when you punch your height and weight into the BMI calculator. The results of your BMI falls into one of the following categories:
Obesity can further be divided into Class I, Class II, and Class III. Class III obesity is determined by a BMI of over 40, and greatly increases your risk of chronic problems like heart disease and diabetes.
If you’re curious about your BMI, don’t hesitate to call our office today at 682-217-5757, or request an appointment online using our convenient tool.
