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Grandview Medical Center
405 W. Grand Avenue
Dayton, Ohio 45405
Bariatric Surgery
(937) 723-3861
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Grandview Medical Center
has been deemed an ASBS
Bariatric Surgery Center
of Excellence - Criteria
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| Below 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 - 24.9 | Normal |
| 25.0 - 29.9 | Overweight |
| 30.0 and Above | Obese |
Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a tool for indicating weight status in
adults. It is a measure of weight for height. For adults over 20 years old, BMI falls into one of these
four categories to the right:
BMI Concerns
An approximation of body fat % (adipose tissue) using a calculation of height versus weight, is what BMI is. It is not an absolute calculation as body compositions vary between different individuals. The BMI calculator relies on average body compositions to make the calculation and therefore the values can be misleading for some individuals.
Using the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a stand-in for obesity has a couple of problems. It doesn’t distinguish muscle from fat, so people with a lot of muscle can end up with a high BMI while unfit people with little muscle can seem just right. Moreover, BMI doesn’t indicate exactly where excess weight is carried. That’s a problem, since research shows that belly fat, rather than the fat around the hips and bottom, poses a particular risk for diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. This may explain why studies have generally found only weak and inconsistent links between a high BMI and disease or early mortality.
Researchers have come up with three main alternatives. Each has its limitations, but all generally appear to predict disease risk better than BMI. Measuring your waist is the simplest but doesn’t account for height. The waist-to-height ratio overcomes that problem but has the least supporting research. The waist-to-hip ratio most precisely differentiates belly fat from hip and bottom fat and has lots of evidence backing it up, but it is more difficult to measure.
Until research clarifies which method is best, use all three indicators. You’ll need these measurements, all in inches: your height in stocking feet, your waist at its narrowest point, and your hips at their widest. To calculate your waist-to-hip ratio, divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. Women are at increased risk If the ratio exceeds 0.8, men if it exceeds 0.9. Your waist should be no larger than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men. And regardless of gender, your waist should be less than half your height. Weight loss is in order if you exceed the boundaries of any of these measures.
An approximation of body fat % (adipose tissue) using a calculation of height versus weight, is what BMI is. It is not an absolute calculation as body compositions vary between different individuals. The BMI calculator relies on average body compositions to make the calculation and therefore the values can be misleading for some individuals.
Using the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a stand-in for obesity has a couple of problems. It doesn’t distinguish muscle from fat, so people with a lot of muscle can end up with a high BMI while unfit people with little muscle can seem just right. Moreover, BMI doesn’t indicate exactly where excess weight is carried. That’s a problem, since research shows that belly fat, rather than the fat around the hips and bottom, poses a particular risk for diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. This may explain why studies have generally found only weak and inconsistent links between a high BMI and disease or early mortality.
Researchers have come up with three main alternatives. Each has its limitations, but all generally appear to predict disease risk better than BMI. Measuring your waist is the simplest but doesn’t account for height. The waist-to-height ratio overcomes that problem but has the least supporting research. The waist-to-hip ratio most precisely differentiates belly fat from hip and bottom fat and has lots of evidence backing it up, but it is more difficult to measure.
Until research clarifies which method is best, use all three indicators. You’ll need these measurements, all in inches: your height in stocking feet, your waist at its narrowest point, and your hips at their widest. To calculate your waist-to-hip ratio, divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. Women are at increased risk If the ratio exceeds 0.8, men if it exceeds 0.9. Your waist should be no larger than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men. And regardless of gender, your waist should be less than half your height. Weight loss is in order if you exceed the boundaries of any of these measures.
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