Calculating and Understanding Your BMI

What is BMI? It stands for BODY MASS INDEX. It means the muscle to fat ratio. The higher the BMI, the more fat a person has.

Calculating BMI using the BMI  Percentile Calculator involves 2 steps.
1. Measure height and weight accurately. 
2. Use the Child and Teen BMI Calculator,(http://nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx), to calculate BMI, or go to http://www.healthstatus.com/calculators/ for a list of health calculations.

By clicking on this link, you will find other links for  measuring height and weight accurately, and more detailed information on the importance of your BMI. There are certainly more accurate ways of measuring body fat. There are skin fold calipers, and machines like omron that measure your BMI. The most accurate method is hydrostatic weighing, where you are submerged in a tank of water and your weight is taken underwater.   

BMI is interpreted differently for children and teens because there are changes in weight and height with age, as well as their relation to body fat. 

Here is the link For Calculating Adult BMI: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

Meet me next time when I discuss, "How to Interpret Food Labels & Grocery Shopping Tips"