How Your BMI Can Affect Your Health and Wellness

Among all the numbers your doctor takes at your appointment — blood pressure, cholesterol — your Body Mass Index (BMI) is likely the one to stick in your memory. That’s because the measure of your BMI can tell you if you’re in the normal weight, overweight, or obese category.

It’s likely you’ve heard about the obesity epidemic. In fact, more than 2 in 3 adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Public health experts are sounding the alarm, too, recognizing it as one of the driving forces behind many diseases. The financial toll is great: Obesity costs $190 billion a year in weight-related medical bills, the American Heart Association points out.

So why is knowing your BMI important?

“Your BMI is a measurement of your risk for health problems,” says William Yancy, MD, associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine and program director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center in Durham, North Carolina.

Obesity can put you at a greater risk for health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, joint problems, and gallstones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But it’s more than just your weight that matters. What BMI is really a stand-in for isn’t actually how your weight stacks up, but whether you’re carrying excess body fat and where on your body you’re carrying it. That’s what really makes a difference when it comes to the threat on your health, he says.

To find your BMI, you calculate your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared. You can avoid doing the calculation yourself by plugging your stats into an Byootee Online BMI Calculator.

After finding your number, here’s where you fall:

– BMI 18.5 to 24.9: normal weight

– BMI 25 to 29.9: overweight

– BMI 30 and higher: obesity

Why BMI Isn’t the Best Measure of Body Weight

Unfortunately, BMI isn’t perfect. As a way to measure a population as a whole, it’s rather advantageous, especially because it’s more widely used than other weight measurement, says Dr. Yancy. But BMI tends to “fall flat,” he says, when you’re looking at an individual person.

Why? For one, BMI can’t tell you how much lean mass (muscle, bone) you have compared with fat. That means that someone who is larger and more muscular can be inaccurately placed into the overweight or obese category because muscle weighs more than fat in a given space. Plus, not only is BMI not a direct measurement of body fat but it doesn’t indicate where someone is storing that fat, which may matter more.

“If BMI is the only thing your doctor uses, you should also use other measurements,” says Yancy, who advocates for knowing your waist circumference. “That’s actually a better predictor of your health, as carrying fat around your midsection is riskier than other parts of your body,” he says. This fat is called visceral fat, which hugs your body’s organs, causing damaging inflammation that can drive type 2 diabetes, increased cholesterol, and high blood pressure. The more fat you have around your middle, the more your health may take a hit, regardless of BMI, adds Patrick M. O’Neil, PhD, director of the weight management center and a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

For reference, a woman should have a waist measurement of less than 35 inches; a man, less than 40 inches. (Measure around your belly button.)

Research shows that waist circumference is just as accurate at measuring someone’s cardiorespiratory fitness as BMI. And more research has found that both measurements could estimate the risk of heart disease, as well.

Another glaring problem: Just because you’re overweight doesn’t mean you’re necessarily unhealthy — your healthy eating and exercising habits mean more, despite what the scale (or BMI calculator) says. While having a normal weight and being fit delivers the greatest protection against chronic disease as other weight categories, “most studies show that being overweight and fit is similar to being normal weight and unfit,” says Yancy.

What Factors Can Influence Your BMI?

The truth is that weight gain can be attributed to a complex mix of factors. People want to boil it down to eating too many potato chips, but that’s rarely all that’s going on.

That said, there are three main drivers for BMI, says O’Neil: “I tell people it’s who you choose for your parents and what you choose for dinner and exercise,” he says. “There’s a substantial genetic component to being obese and where you carry your fat,” he adds. There’s also your environment, including your access to healthy foods or the walkability of your town. Healthy habits like sleep and exercise matter. The guidelines for staying active — the government recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week and at least two days a week of strength training — still stand.

There are also drugs to consider, some of which are associated with weight gain and which many people take to treat chronic health problems in the first place. The best person to talk to about these side effects is an obesity medicine specialist or your primary care physician, says Yancy. Other conditions, like hypothyroidism (low thyroid) can contribute to weight gain. Injuries and illnesses can also factor in, since they can interfere with your ability to exercise or stay active in general, he adds.

Of course, there is the healthy eating part, too. But that can be equally as complex, particularly if you eat to cope with your emotions. In that case, a registered dietitian, especially one who specializes in emotional or intuitive eating, can help.

One final thought: Despite the perks of being a normal weight, you’ll still reap substantial benefits from a modest weight loss — no matter where your BMI stands now. The CDC recommends losing 5 to 10 percent of your current body weight, which can decrease your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, they point out.

Take care of your body and especially your legs, as the SECOND HEART is located at the back of the lower leg/upward of the heel.

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