#Tell your story how to#

“It’s important to know that BMI is just a guide and can be misleading in some people. If you’ve put your details into a calculator and the results aren’t within the ‘healthy’ margins, don’t panic.

#Tell your story how to#

So knowing the average BMI of a population, in collaboration with other health statistics, can give health professionals more information on how to target communities that may need additional help with their lifestyle and healthcare options. “BMI can be used at an individual level to help you decide if you need to gain or lose weight but it is also used at a wider level where it indicates the health of populations,” Dr McGrattan adds. Working out your BMI is not only useful on a personal level, though. “There are health risks associated with being both overweight and underweight.”

“Measuring your BMI can help to guide you and your nurse or doctor, as to whether you are a healthy weight.” says Dr Juliet McGrattan, former GP and author of Sorted: The Active Woman’s Guide to Health (opens in new tab). Health care professionals use BMI to help them assess their patients' risk factors for certain weight-related health conditions. This time, also multiply by 703.įor an easy way to work out your BMI, you could use one of the many online calculators available, where you input your weight and height and it figures it out for you. There is a formula for both.įor metric, you simply work out your height in centimetre-squared, then use this number to divide your weight in kilograms (weight ÷ height²).įor imperial, work out your height (in inches) and use the number to divide your weight in pounds (weight (lbs) ÷ height (in)²). This can be in metric or imperial measurements.

Read more: Best exercise machine to lose weight (opens in new tab).