BMI Guide: Calculate Healthy Body Mass Index by Age and Gender

Body Mass Index (BMI) serves as a key indicator of cardiovascular health and general wellness. Learn how to calculate BMI for athletes, children, and amputees, and understand what your results mean.

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Average American Woman's Weight and Height

The average height and weight of women varies around the world, but in the United States, the average adult female height was 63.7 inches (approximately 5 feet 3 inches) and 168.5 pounds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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How Bad Is a BMI of 34.7?

Doctors use body mass index, or BMI, to help determine who is overweight or obese. Although it isn't a perfect measurement, it is free and easy to calculate so it is good for screening patients. If you have a high BMI, you are considered obese, which puts you at higher risk for a number of health conditions.

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How Does Body Mass Affect the Cardiovascular System?

Body composition is the percentage of bone, muscle, water and fat you carry. The more fat you have, the higher your risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. The body mass index (BMI) is an internationally used means for measuring your body composition that you or your physician can calculate.

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Working Out and Eating Right But Not Losing Weight

Eating right and working out requires sacrificing your time and some of life's simple pleasures. When you don't see results on the scale, you may be tempted to throw it over for snacks and computer games. Don't despair.

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The Disadvantages of BMI

The body mass index, or BMI, is commonly used in doctors' offices as a way to estimate your body fat level. It provides a quick and easy way to evaluate obesity trends in the general population, but the equation can overestimate or underestimate body fat levels in many people.

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How to Calculate Infant BMI

Body Mass Index, or BMI, measures the relationship between a person’s height and weight. Your BMI indicates whether you are underweight, overweight, obese or at a healthy weight. You can use the same formula to calculate an infant’s BMI that you would use to calculate an adult’s BMI.

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Is There an Ideal Weight for a 6'2" male?

At 6-foot-2 your ideal weight can fall into a nearly 50-pound ideal range. Even outside of this range your weight may still be healthy if your body fatness is within the ideal range.

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Average Adolescent BMI

Body mass index, a measurement calculated using height and weight, is often used to help determine if someone is overweight, underweight or at a healthy weight.

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How to Calculate BMI for Amputee

Body mass index, or BMI, is a good guideline for keeping track of your weight. Your BMI value can tell you if you are underweight, less than 18.5; healthy weight, 18.5 to 24.9; overweight, 25 to 29.9; or obese, 30 to 39.9.

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The Average BMI in the USA

Maintaining a healthy weight isn't just about aesthetics; being overweight significantly increases your risk of various chronic diseases. One of the ways health providers indirectly measure body fat is by calculating your body mass index, or BMI.

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What to Do If Your BMI Is 18.5?

When it comes to the relationship between weight and health, there's no one-size-fits-all ideal you can call on to make sure you're on the right track. If your BMI is 18.5, you're on the low end of what's considered healthy, but you may or may not be at a healthy weight. If you're naturally very slim, a BMI of 18.

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Body Mass Index & Blood Pressure

Your blood pressure is a good indication of the health of your cardiovascular system. When your blood pressure is high, your heart is working under stressful conditions. A high blood pressure, also called hypertension, is categorized as such when you have chronic readings of 140/90 mmHg or higher.

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What Does a 35.1 BMI Mean?

A body mass index of 35.1 falls into an unhealthy range. A majority percent of the American population have a BMI that is in the overweight or obese weight ranges, according to the Weight-control Information Network.

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Normal Ranges for BMI

Your doctor may use your body mass index, or BMI, as a way to generally assess your weight as well as your risk of weight-related health problems, including high blood pressure, heart disease, type-2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

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Military BMI Requirements

BMI is a standard measurement used to evaluate an individual’s weight in relation to height. Weight and body fat standards are often set for military organizations -- the Navy, the Air Force, the Army, the Marines and the Coast Guard -- and recruits must meet these standards to enlist or maintain membership.

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What Is a Dangerously Low BMI?

Your body mass index, or BMI, depends on your weight and height, and gives you a general idea of whether you're at risk for an obesity-related illness. The BMI helps doctors quickly screen for serious issues with body weight, such as being underweight or overweight.

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How to Calculate BMI for Athletes

Body mass index measures if you have a healthy level of fatness using an equation that involves the relationship of your height to your weight. Although body mass index, or BMI, is a good measure for much of the population, it's not infallible.

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Ways to Calculate BMI

When you go for a checkup, your doctor may measure your height and weight to determine your BMI -- or body mass index. This gives him an idea of your body's level of fatness and whether you're at a healthy size.

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Jeans and centimeter

Healthy Waist Size & BMI

A burgeoning waist line may be doing more than keeping you out of your tight jeans; it could be shortening your life. Your waist size and body mass index are important indicators of increased health risk due to excess body fat.

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What Is a Normal BMI for Children?

Many children today live at an unhealthy weight. More than 12 percent of children aged 2 to 5 years are obese, as are 17 percent of children aged 6 to 19, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Obesity increases a child's risk of emotional and physical health problems.

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