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>> Why my BMI does not always work?
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Why my BMI does not always work?

One way to assess your weight is to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). Your BMI estimates whether you are at a healthy weight but provides no specific information regarding your body composition. BMI is not always an accurate way to determine whether you need to lose weight. Being overweight puts strain on your heart and can lead to serious health problems. These problems include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, varicose veins, and other chronic conditions.

Your BMI estimates how much you should weigh, based on your height. Here are the steps to calculate it:

BMI is then used to place the individual into one of five general categories:

BMI is not always an accurate way to determine whether you need to lose weight. Here are some exceptions:

Body builders
Because muscle weighs more than fat, people who are unusually muscular may have a high BMI.

Elderly
In the elderly it is often better to have a BMI between 25 and 27, rather than under 25. If you are older than 65, for example, a slightly higher BMI may help protect you from osteoporosis.

Children
While an alarming number of children are obese, do not use this BMI calculator for evaluating a child. Talk to your child's doctor about what an appropriate weight is for his or her age.

Doctors use a few different methods to determine whether you are overweight. Waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and body composition using bioimpedance are other means. A lot of other factors influence your health. These include diet, physical activity, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels.

Where BMI provides a general categorization of weight based on height, body composition assessment by bioimpedance provides more detailed information regarding tissue composition (fat versus fat-free mass) and fluid distribution (total body water, intracellular and extracellular fluid levels).