Paul Conway Thursday 20th July 2006

Body Mass Index

Since the early 1980s, the Body Mass Index (BMI) has been advocated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and health professionals as a tool for indicating if a person is underweight, healthy, overweight obese.

Be aware that frame size, water retention, ethnicity, age, bone and muscle density can distort a persons BMI. For instance a healthy bodybuilder could have a BMI above 30 (ranked obese), due to muscle mass!

Calculating your BMI
1. Measure height in metres and multiply the figure by itself.
2. Measure weight in kilograms and then divide weight by height.

Example: You are 1.65m tall and weight 89kg
1. 1.65x1.65 = 2.72
2. Your BMI would be 89 divided by 2.72 = 32.72

This result shows that you fall into the very overweight category and therefore you should consider the benefits of a Herbalife ShapeWorks Programme.

BMI Thresholds

Male
Underweight: <20
Ideal: >or = to 20 but <25
Overweight: >or = to 25 but <30
Obese: >or = to 30
Morbid obesity: >40

Female
Underweight: <18
Ideal: >or = to 18 but <25
Overweight: >or = to 25 but <30
Obese: >or = to 30
Morbid obesity: >40

I hope this article has been of interest and help.

Yours in health

Paul Conway
Herbalife Coach