by Caryl Buckstein

Created on: June 29, 2008   Last Updated: August 04, 2008

Your Body Mass Index provides insight into the amount of fat in your body. A widely accepted mathematical formula helps disclose this information, which also is called your BMI.

The formula that determines your BMI divides your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared then multiplies the result by a conversion factor of 703. For a shortcut, refer to Internet for BMI calculators. Organizations offering user-friendly calculators include the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Web MD.

The medical community often will use a BMI calculation as a benchmark to determine a person's health. For example, you might be considered underweight if your BMI is less than 18.5, or normal with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. You might be assessed as overweight if your BMI is 25 to 29.9, or obese with a BMI of 30 or greater.

Depending on where you fall initially on this scale, simply gaining or losing weight may lead to an improved BMI score.

But anyone wanting to become healthy should consider more than a BMI score, cautions the Department of Health and Human Services.

Also take into your account your waist circumference, because it truly indicates abdominal fat - a good predictor of your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. You can find your waist circumference by placing a tape measure snugly around your waist at its most narrow point. The greater your waist size, the greater your health risks. Men need to be concerned if they have a waist measurement over 40 inches. Women should take action if their waist exceeds 35 inches.

Many important factors appear in medical tests. Along with the BMI score, look for other risk factors, such as: high blood pressure, or hypertension; high LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol; low HDL cholesterol, or good cholesterol; high triglycerides; or high blood glucose. Other pertinent factors include a family history of premature heart disease; physical inactivity; or cigarette smoking.

The BMI score may fail to give a complete picture of a person's health when considered alone. The mathematical formula doesn't take into account age, gender or muscle mass, notes Web MD. It also makes no distinction between lean muscle body mass and fat mass. It also doesn't account for the temporary dramatic body change occurring in pregnancy.

Depending on other factors, a slender couch potato with a BMI of 20 may be more at risk then muscular athlete. An elderly person may have a favorable score that fails to disclose loss of muscle and failing health.

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