1. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of body fat considering height and weight that applies to most
adult men and women with weight in kilograms and height being considered in meters. BMI is used in a
wide variety of contexts as a simple method to assess how much an individual's body weight departs
from whatis normal or desirable for a person of his or her height.
BMI Prime is a simple modification to BMI system. It is the ratio of actual BMI and the upperlimit BMI.
Why use BMI:
∑ BMI is simple, inexpensive and noninvasive measure of body weight.
∑ BMI depends only on height and weight and can easily be calculated by individuals with some
reasonable accuracy.
∑ BMI with some considerations can predict the risk of obesity and health risks.
BMI Limitations:
∑ It ignores the muscle and bone mass distribution
∑ BMI doesn’t differentiate body fat and muscle mass
∑ Possible risk of over BMI in people with more body mass like body builders, athletes
∑ Unavoidable mislead of BMI in lean people like elderly
BMI levels for adults:
BMI levels for those of 20 years and older, BMI can be interpreted from standard weight status for all
ages and for both men and women. The standard weight categories in relationwith BMI for adults are:
BMI Weight Status
Below 18.5 Under Weight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and above Obese
BMI levels for children and adolescents:
BMI levels in children and adolescents between 2to 20 years old, BMI is calculated considering age and
sex. This is because the amount of body fat changes with age and sex for this group of people. BMI
should serve only forinitial screening for children and adolescents. Health consultants should integrate
some other factors like physical activity, diet, ancestors history and other appropriate screening. BMI-
for-age categories and percentile ranges are:
Percentile Ranking Weight Status
< 5th
percentile Under Weight
5th
percentile to <85th
percentile Normal / Healthy weight
85th
to < 95th
percentile Overweight
>= 95th
percentile Obese