What should your bmi be

Divide that by your height in inches, squared:. Doctors and nurses often use BMI to help find out if a person might have a weight problem. The BMI can also underestimate body fat in people who have lost muscle mass, such as some older people. For most adults, the BMI is a good way to get an idea of healthy weight ranges. There are other things to think about when judging how much someone should weigh. Fad diets and rapid weight loss can be unsafe and often lead to people regaining the weight later on.

In this article, learn how to lose weight safely…. Changing estrogen levels may appear to be linked with weight gain, particularly around menopause. In this article, we examine what the relationship…. BMI has been used for more than years to assess weight, but how accurate is it? Is there a better way to measure health risk in relation to body…. How to calculate BMI for women. Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. BMI calculator. BMI ranges for women. Benefits of BMI.

Drawbacks of BMI. Other methods for measuring weight. Exposure to air pollutants may amplify risk for depression in healthy individuals. Costs associated with obesity may account for 3. Related Coverage. They can have a high BMI because they have more muscle mass, but this does not mean they are overweight. However, it should not be the only measure for an individual to assess whether their weight is ideal or not.

Research has shown that people who have more body fat around their middle are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease CVD and diabetes. For this reason, the waist-to-hip ratio WHR is a useful tool for calculating whether a person has a healthy weight and size.

This will give them 0. How WHR affects the risk of cardiovascular disease CVD is different for men and women, because they tend to have different body shapes. However, these figures can vary , depending on the source and the population to which they apply. WHR may be a better predictor of heart attacks and other health risks than BMI, which does not take fat distribution into consideration.

A study of health records for 1, people in 11 countries, published in , showed that those with a higher WHR also have a greater risk of medical and surgical complications relating to colorectal surgery.

Waist-to-height ratio WtHR is another tool that might predict the risk of heart disease , diabetes, and overall mortality more effectively than BMI. A person whose waist measurement is less than half their height has a lower risk of a number of life-threatening health complications. To calculate the WtHR, a person should divide their waist size by their height. If the answer is 0. The authors also cited findings from another study — involving statistics for around , people from different ethnic groups — which concluded that WHtR is better than BMI at predicting heart attacks, strokes , diabetes, and hypertension.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC note that a man with a waist size of 40 inches or above, or a woman with a waist size of 35 inches or above has a higher risk than other people of:. Essential fat : A person needs essential fat to survive. It plays a role in a wide range of bodily functions. For men, it is healthy to have 2 to 4 percent of their body composition as essential fat. Storage fat : Fatty tissue protects the internal organs in the chest and abdomen, and the body can use it if necessary for energy.

BMI, in contrast, does not distinguish between fat and muscle mass.