BMI

BMI

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a number based on your height/weight ratio. The ratio is supposed to give us an index of our body tissue (muscle, fat  and bone) and then place us on a scale based on that number into 1 of 4 categories.

1. Underweight

2. Normal Weight

3. Overweight

4. Obese

These metrics are mostly useful for people that are not involved in weight training or other activities where muscle building is a prime focus as the greater than average muscle mass they carry will put them at a body weight that skews them toward the "overweight or obese" categories.  People who are taller or shorter than average will often rank with a higher BMI despite the fact that they may not appear overweight.

All in all, it is a useful tool to quickly access a person's mass and general risk for conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some forms of cancer.

There are free BMI calculators online that you can plug your height and weight into.  Overall, we don't recommend putting too much emphasis on you're BMI if you're active.  Focus on building muscle, burning fat and keeping your heart healthy with regular cardiovascular exercise.