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What is the Body Mass Index?
The
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a formula which indicates if an
adult is overweight, obese or below the normal weight. The
formula to calculate the Body Mass Index é: BMI = weight /
(height)2
By
the Body Mass Index who is considered overweight or obese?
First
of all you need to be aware that the Body Mass Index is just an indicator.
The World Health Organization uses a simple criteria:
|
Condition |
BMI in adults |
|
Below the
weight |
below de
18,5 |
|
Normal
weight |
18.5 - 25 |
|
Overweight |
25 - 30 |
|
Obese |
above 30 |
The
advantage of the World Health Organization's system is that it is
simple, with round number and easy to use. There
are other more complex criteria. The results of the NHANES II (National Health
and Nutrition Examination Survey) indicated the adoption of the
following criteria for americans:
|
Condition
|
BMI
in women
|
BMI
in men
|
|
Below the
weight
|
< 19.1
|
< 20.7
|
|
Normal
weight
|
19.1 - 25.8
|
20.7 - 26.4
|
|
Marginally
overweight
|
25.8 - 27.3
|
26.4 - 27.8
|
|
Overweight
|
27.3 - 32.3
|
27.8 - 31.1
|
|
Obese
|
> 32.3
|
> 31.1
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What
are the weakness of the Body Mass Index system?
There
are some problems in using the Body Mass Index to determine if the
person is overweight. For example, muscular people may have a high Body
Mass Index and not being overweight. The Body Mass Index system isn't
applicable for children also. Other
problem is the impact of differences of the races and ethnics over the
Body Mass Index. For example, a World Health Organization's technical counseling
group concluded that people of asiatic origin could be considered
overweight with a BMI of just 23.
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