Normal Body Mass Index
So what is a normal body mass index? According to the World Health Organization, the ideal bmi is between 18.50 and 24.99. They further break it down into various classifications as follows:
| Underweight | <18.50 | |
Severe Thinness |
<16.00 | |
Moderate Thinness |
16.00 - 16.99 | |
Mild Thinness |
17.00 - 18.49 | |
| Normal Range | 18.50 - 24.99 | |
| Overweight | ≥25.00 | |
Pre-Obese |
25.00 - 29.99 | |
| Obese | ≥ 30.00 | |
Obese Class 1 |
30.00 - 34.99 | |
Obese Class 2 |
35.00 - 39.99 | |
Obese Class 3 |
≥40.00 | |
It's clear from these guidelines that the range of acceptable weights is rather large. A woman who is 5'4" tall can weigh anywhere from 107 to 145 pounds and still have a normal body mass index. For those on the metric system, that's about 49 to 66 kilos for a woman of 1.63 metres. Western ideals tend to idealise the lower end of normal, but when it comes to health, experts generally agree that staying within normal limits can help lower your risk of common health problems like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol - you've heard it all before!
Does this mean that if you are a skinny-minnie you'll never have health problems? Of course not, but your chances of living a long, full life are much better when you are not carrying around an extra 100, 200, or 300 pounds.
A person who is overweight by WHO standards might have exceptionally low body fat and have exceptionally high muscle mass, but sometimes it seems that common sense goes out the window when people start obssessing about BMI. If you rate 35 on the scale, it most likely isn't because you've been spending too much time in the gym!
It is possible, though, to feel "fat" by magazine standards yet be in a good and healthy weight range for you. BMI isn't the only measure of health, after all. It's important to use common sense.
The fact is, you can not guarantee good health by having a low bmi, but you will certainly help yourself tremendously by maintaining a normal body mass index.
Here are some other pages you may find interesting:
- BMI Index Calculator
- BMI Index Calculator Metric
- Body Mass Index Calculation
- Body Mass Index: A History
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