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BMI Explained

If you are thinking about having weight loss surgery, you must have read something related to a “BMI”, which basically is the turning point to determine whether you are a candidate for weight loss surgery or not.

The BMI, which stands for “Body Mass Index”, is a medical screening tool that healthcare specialists use to measure the amount of body fat, which measures the ratio of your height to your weight, estimating your total body fat. This helps to assess the risk factors for health conditions or diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Healthcare specialists calculate BMI by using your weight in kilograms or divided by the square of your height, using metric units of kilograms and meters because using pounds and inches, they need to add another element to the formula to have the correct measure. The BMI formula takes into consideration that taller people might weigh more and vice versa. So, the taller you are, the lower your BMI would be. Then, the more you weigh, the higher your BMI.

Your BMI by itself does not diagnose health and it is not always an accurate measurement of body fatness but it definitely helps the specialist to have an idea of your weight vs height status. Nowadays, there are several websites and apps that will help you calculate your body mass index in any units.

BMI Explained

The BMI scale between 16 to 18.5 means you have a lower height than you should, which we usually recommend to also look for a specialist because this could be because of bad eating habits or suffer from anorexia or bulimia that can lead to diseases such as anemia.

The scale between 18.6 to 25 means you are at an average rate which is considered as normal, is not always the most healthy to be standing at the very limit (low or high) but this represents a good relation between height and body, meaning the weight you have is proportional to you height and no risk of suffering mayor diseases.

The scale between 25.1 to 40 or more, means you do have a certain amount of overweight or obesity that needs to be taken into consideration. The patients whose BMI is around 30 (depends on other factors as well) is one of the main reasons why you can be a candidate for any weight loss procedure.

It is important to know that if you have a high body mass index, this means a BMI of 30 or higher and you might have a risk of having:

  1. Heart disease
  2. Hypertension
  3. Type 2 diabetes
  4. Sleep Apnea
  5. Certain cancers
  6. Depression
  7. Among others

On the other hand, if your BMI is 18.5 or less, you might be at risk of having:

  1. Malnutrition
  2. Weak immune system
  3. Anemia
  4. Infertility
  5. Among others
BMI

So as everything, it's not good to stand at the low or high limits

It is also true that you might not have any of the above health conditions even when you have a high or low BMI. There are other factors or genetics that play a role in the medical results as well as lifestyle aspects.

To calculate your BMI, you will only require height and weight and the formula is based on either kilograms and meters or pounds and inches:

  1. Kilograms and meter: Formula: weight (Kg)/ height (m) ]2
  2. Pounds and Inches : Formula: weight (lb)// [height (in)]2 x 703

Below we show you on how the scale is usually rated:

body mass index explained

<16 – 16.9 Extreme underweight

17 – 18.4 Underweight

18.5 – 24.9 Normal

25.0 – 29.9 Overweight

30.0 – 34.9 Obesity first degree

25.0 – 39.9 Obesity second degree

40> Obesity third degree

If you are willing to undergo Bariatric Surgery and you want to know if you are a candidate, you must have a BMI over 30 or more than 60 pounds overweight with co-morbidities or 100 pounds overweight without. If your BMI is lower than 30, you should consult a specialist to consider your medical history and conditions.

Please contacr Hidalgo Bariatrics Team

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