Meaning of BMI
Bmi simply means body mass index.Knowing the meaning of bmi and how to calculate your body mass index has now become a must for individuals globally. Knowing your BMI is key to curbing the menace of obesity.
Obesity is a global epidemic with potentially disastrous consequences for human health. About one-quarter of adults and children in the world population are obese or are at risk of becoming one. How do we curb this nutritional disorder and its attendant health risks? You have passed first step is by knowing the meaning ofbmi.The second step is knowing how to calculate it.
how to calculate bmi
The BMI makes use of the simple knowledge of your height and weight. It is a do-it-self method and can be done comfortably at home. It tells you if you are overweight/obese or have a high chance of becoming one in future.
The formulae to use in calculating and knowing your BMI is as below;
BMI = your weight in kilograms
______________________
(your height in metres)²
For example, my weight is 70kg and my height is 187cm. What is my BMI?
Solution
Weight = 70kg
Height = 187cm converting to metres by dividing 187cm by 100 will give 1.87m
Therefore, body mass index, BMI = 70 / (1.87)²which is equal to
20kg/m². This is my BMI.
Interpretation and clinical implication of answers or results.
For values
< 18.5 ———————— underweight
18.5- 24.9 ———————— normal BMI
25-29.9 ———————— overweight
30 and above ———————obese
From the interpretation of values, my BMI of 20kg/m² is normal as it falls between 18.5-24.5kg/m² range of the normal BMI.
With the simple and well-illustrated calculation and interpretation above, you can know your Body Mass Index and monitor your weight regularly. Know that being overweight is a signal of becoming obese in no distant time if measures are not taken to check your weight gain.
To make calculations easy here is the average weight of Nigerian adults:
– Normal human weight in nigeria/average weight in Nigeria is 64kg
– Normal weight for a woman in nigeria is 60 – 63kg (but this depends on your height)
– For Nigerian men, their average weight is 68 – 70kg depending on their height
Image Credit: medicalnewstoday
Have you heard of the “sitting diseases”?
This era of 9-5 jobs has brought 8hrs of sitting and ‘working’
Don’t forget like 4hrs traffic and let’s say 2hrs TV time daily.
From sitting almost all day, one can increase the risk of;
-Obesity
-Diabetes
-Heart disease
-Neck, shoulder,
Low back pain(especially if your chair is not ergonomic- wrong for your height and back)
-job dissatisfaction and depression
-Even Cancer
Finally, we have always believed that when your doctor says rest, (s)he always means sit or lie down all day Sometimes this means do some active leisure activities like games, swimming, take a walk, or something else you love that keeps you moving and happy.
