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BMI Calculator

How does the BMI Calculator work?

A BMI Calculator is a calculator that takes your height, weight and usually your frame size into consideration to determine your BMI, or Body Mass Index. Body Mass Index is just a fancy term for a general overview of your body, in how your height relates to your weight. If you’re tall and skinny, you’ll have a low Body Mass Index. Short and heavy people will have a higher number for their BMIs.

You can easily find a BMI Calculator free online at almost any health or weight loss site. Some sits are dedicated only to things like a BMI Index Calculator , a weight loss goal calculator and maybe a body fat calculator.

You can learn how to calculate your BMI without a calculator. It’s a formula that’s slightly different for men and women and slightly different depending on whether you use metrics or pounds and inches. If you use metrics, then you multiply your height times itself, and divide that into the number of your weight.

If you use pounds and inches, then multiply your times itself just as if you were using metrics. Now multiply your weight times 703. Divided the amount of your height squared into your weight multiplied by 703, and that’s your BMI number. Weight BMI Calculators simply take your information and do all the calculations for you.

You might be thinking, “Okay, I learned how to calculate my BMI . But what does it mean?” To understand that, you need to look a standard chart that you can find on most sites that contain BMI Calculators . Known as a Body Mass Index chart, this tells you what the numbers mean. If your BMI is 18.5 or less, you’re underweight. Anything above that, up until 24.9 is considered normal BMI or a healthy weight. Above 24.9 until 29.9 is overweight, and 30 and above is considered obsess.

Some BMI Calculators break it down even further into extreme obesity at 40 and above. The higher your BMI number, the more out of shape you’re considered because your weight is out of proportion to your height. Of course, this measurement is wildly inaccurate for certain people. Football players and athletes that are very heavy because they have huge muscles will almost always measure as obese, which of course is not the case. So anyone who has built a significant amount of muscle mass will find the BMI to not be a true indicator of health and fitness.

For those who do measure as overweight or obese, most online sites will then point you to diet reviews , so you can look into a way to lose weight and bring your BMI into a normal range. Exercise tips might also be offered, and usually there will be links to various fitness plans that include both dieting and exercise.

Motivation is an important part of losing weight and getting in shape, so choosing the right way of doing it is important. Keeping an eye on your BMI and watching the number drop can be one way to keep yourself motivated.