| When you are trying to lose weight, you will likely | | | | body mass index is and often become confused |
| find that is a big numbers game, more so than | | | | by it. To them, they see it as another system of |
| any other factor in this society. Think about all the | | | | numbers that have to document and remember. |
| numbers there are to keep track of, how many | | | | The body mass index contains the ratio of a |
| pounds do you need to lose, in how many weeks | | | | persons height and weight. Implementing the |
| do you need to lose it? How many inches is your | | | | formula allows physicians to determine if he or |
| waist and how many should it be? What is your | | | | she is overweight or obese. |
| body fat and what should it be? When you look | | | | While the word formula may scare you at first, |
| at this is way, it is easy to see why so many | | | | determining your body mass index, is really not all |
| people have trouble losing the weight they want | | | | that hard. First, you must determine your height in |
| to lose. | | | | meters squared and your weight in kilograms. |
| There is one very good way to determine where | | | | There are many websites available just for that |
| you sit and where you should be sitting in terms | | | | reason, if you do not know how to determine |
| of dieting. Even though there are a variety of | | | | those figures. After finding your metric height and |
| numbers you are to keep track of, there is only | | | | weight, you divide your weight with your height. If |
| one set that doctors seem most concerned with, | | | | you simply do not want to conduct this calculation, |
| and that is your body mass index (BMI). BMI, is a | | | | your physician should be able to provide you with |
| fairly new concept in America. The reality is it has | | | | a body mass index chart. |
| been around for quite a while. The idea was | | | | The average healthy person should have a body |
| created by Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetlet. He | | | | mass index of somewhere between 18.5 through |
| was a Belgian mathematician and was extremely | | | | 25, depending on their height. Those that fall |
| famous both then and now, because of the | | | | between 26 and 29 are considered overweight. A |
| numbers systems he implemented in improving | | | | body mass index between 30 and 39 is |
| lives. This system has become the best | | | | considered to be obese and 40 or more is |
| measurement of determining if a patient is | | | | morbidly obese. As the BMI increases, so do the |
| overweight or obese. | | | | risk of serious health problems. |
| Many people still do not quite understand what | | | | |