To be clear, your body mass index doesn’t incorporate information like body fat percentage (doesn’t differentiate between lean body mass and body fat), age, or gender. These are measurements anyone can take in mere seconds and this ease of use is by design. It is therefore obvious that BMI only takes into account two of your body measurements – your body mass (weight) and your height. The BMI formula is simply:īMI (kg/m 2) = weight (kg) / height 2 (m) Should we use a separate BMI scale for women?īMI, an acronym of Body Mass Index, is a composite measure for body mass relative to body size.Should we calculate women’s BMI differently?.What is the Body Mass Index (BMI)? – a brief refresher on its definition and utility.In this article we set out to explore whether it makes sense to have a separate BMI for women, and therefore whether having a BMI calculator for women makes any sense. Others don’t make such a distinction, including those put forth by the most respected health organizations such as the U.S. Some of them make a distinction between the sexes and produce different results for men and women.

This is again simply possible because all that is needed is the height and weight of a person.There are multiple BMI calculators out there, including our own online Body Mass Index calculator.

Another major reason the BMI is still used is that it has the ability to compare many groups of people and even entire countries by their BMI. Since then it has spread across the world and has thus already has amassed a great deal of data, not just people’s BMIs’ but in scholarly articles that use the simple BMI to link it to different health problems and diseases. The body mass index was developed in the 1800’s and has been widely used after World War 2 when it was used to link body weight with cardiovascular disease. Not only that but the fact that there are many different indices and formulas for these methods, it makes comparing them more difficult as well. Since each and every health index has its limitations, the BMI is still used because it is the broadest and by far simplest index to calculate: just weight divided by height squared.Įven though different health indices exist such as Body Fat Percentage that are more accurate in predicting whether a certain person has a healthy body weight or not, the problem with those is that they require slightly more effort in obtaining the appropriate measurements for each individual. These same limitations still arise in many different health indices and frankly will always have limitations, to different degrees, because for the simple reason that every person is different and thus no single index can comprise all people. Why is the BMI still used?ĭespite all the downfalls and limitations shown above that come with the body mass index, ironically those same limitations play a role in why it is still widely used. This means that for bodybuilders and very fit people, sometimes it’s better being 'overweight' because to them the BMI is stating they are heavier than 'normal' people, which is in fact the goal most bodybuilders want to obtain. One last thing to remember is that the 'overweight', 'underweight' readings shown in this BMI Calculator are relative to a pre-defined average 'normal' body weight. Thus it is important to take all this into account when trying to understand your BMI reading and also speak with a doctor or nutritionist before undergoing any new fitness routine or diet.

In reality, the 'normal' body weights for people vary from age, gender, and population.

Having high muscle mass can result in a higher BMI because muscle is more dense than fat and thus for the same height someone with a lot of muscle can weigh as much as someone with high body fat.

Even though taller people tend to be thinner on average, their larger bone mass usually skews their BMI to slightly larger values.

The 'normal' proportion is used for all heights and weights even though not everyone has the same body type.

Several issues arise with this method and those are listed below: Basically the BMI assumes a 'normal' body weight for men and women of average height and average fitness or activity level. It is important to note that the Body Mass Index is to be used as a general tool for determining a healthy body weight.

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