If you’ve struggled to maintain healthy body weight and you’re interested in exploring your weight loss options, it’s important to know exactly what your current Body Mass Index, or BMI, is.
Your body mass index is an easy-to-calculate numeric value that you find using an online BMI calculator. By simply inputting both your height and weight into the BMI calculator, you’ll be provided with your own personal BMI number.
Once you know your exact body mass index, you will understand whether you are classified as being underweight, normal or healthy weight, overweight or obese according to guidelines approved by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
How to Calculate Body Mass Index
- Enter your age.
- Select your sex.
- Enter your height.
- Enter your weight.
- Click “Calculate”
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See below for recommended BMI values for each type of weight loss option. With this information, you can begin to research what weight loss surgery or medical weight loss weight loss program is available for you based on your specific BMI. Patients who are interested in weight loss surgeries like LAP-BAND, sleeve gastrectomy, or gastric bypass are generally required to fall within a specific BMI range in order to qualify for a particular procedure.
Recommended BMI Values
Experts recommend that adults maintain a body mass index of between 18.5 and 24.9 in order to achieve optimal health and wellness, along with a reduction in risk factors for obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, joint problems, cardiovascular issues and some cancers.
Adults who have a body mass index of below 18.5, or above 25.0, are considered to have an unhealthy body weight, which can increase their risk of weight-related illnesses and diseases.
For example, an adult who is 5’9″ tall and weighs 124 lbs or less would have a BMI under 18.5, which is considered to be unhealthy/underweight. If that same adult weighs between 125 – 168 lbs they would have a normal, healthy BMI of 18.5 – 24.9, while weighing between 169 lbs and 202 lbs would result in a BMI of 25.0 – 29.9, placing them into the overweight category.
The exception to the standard values determined by the BMI calculator are athletes, who may have a high body mass index in spite of being very lean and physically fit. This is because the BMI calculator only factors in height and weight, and is unable to account the increased muscle mass that many high-performance athletes may have; therefore, people who fall into this category will require further testing to determine their true BMI.
Learn More about Your Weight Loss Options
Once you have learned your own body mass index using the online BMI calculator, learn more about your medical weight loss and weight loss surgery options through our complimentary online bariatric seminar delivered by our team of experienced, compassionate weight loss experts. Or give us a call at 256.840.5547 (Albertville) or 256.571.8734 (Guntersville) or contact us online.
