BMI You’ve probably heard the term BMI many times – at school, in the media, during medical appointments. It’s everywhere.

Well, what is it?

BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a measurement used to assess weight. With the measurement, medical professionals can evaluate a person’s weight in relation to height.

Why is that important?

According to research, this measurement predicts that the higher the number, the higher the risk of certain health problems. The same can be said about risk for health problems for very low numbers, too. Basically, very high and very low numbers aren’t great.

How is BMI measured?

BMI is calculated with a formula using height and weight. Calculate your BMI here: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/

In adults, experts recommend a BMI of 25 or less. For children and teens, the BMI is plotted on a body mass index for age and gender.

For girls: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set2clinical/cj41l074.pdf

For boys: http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/set1clinical/cj41l023.pdf

BMI is important... but it’s not the entire story. For example, someone with a large amount of muscle mass may be incorrectly categorized as overweight due to muscle, not fat. This is only to say that defining overweight and obesity is not quite black and white. And BMI can play a useful role in evaluating the gray.

So, what does this all mean?

If your BMI indicates that you’re overweight or underweight, and your medical provider agrees, you could be at risk for a number of health problems.