What is BMI?

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a number calculated by dividing a person’s weight (in kilograms) by one’s squared height (in meters). The body mass index is a trustworthy indicator of body fatness and correlates with more sophisticated and more expensive methods of body fat assessment.

How is BMI used?

The body mass index is used as an accurate screening tool to identify individuals that are likely to suffer from heart, circulatory and metabolic diseases. This number can also help us to deduce whether our weight is suitable for our height and gender. Moreover, the risk of the above mentioned diseases, their intensity and presence of possible complications rises with the increases of the BMI number.

How reliable is BMI?

There is a clear correlation between body fatness and the BMI number. Unfortunately some exceptions exist and the body mass index cannot be applied to: 

• children and teenagers
• the elderly (they tend to have more body fat than younger people)
• pregnant or breastfeeding women
• athletes (the rise in weight can be attributed to increased muscularity rather than body fatness).

It is very important to remember that BMI is only one risk factor related to the diseases mentioned below and should be considered with other health predictors and risk factors.

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