The BMI is a good indicator of your body weight. It also is can be used as an indicator of your current and future health risks. This is true because on average people who are overweight or obese have high incidence of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea, osteoarthritis, psychological problems and reproductive problems for women. (http://www.aihw.gov.au/body-weight/)
The BMI is a indicator of where your weight should be for your age, sex and height. It doesn’t however cover all people and their cultural variations. It doesn’t allow for fat distribution around your body nor can it be used for children.
Calculate you Body Mass Index.
Your BMI will fall into one of four categories:
| BMI (kg/m2) | Classification |
| Less than 18.5 | Underweight |
| 18.5 to less than 25 | Normal weight range |
| 25 to less than 30 | Overweight |
| 30 or more | Obese |
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) 2000. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. WHO technical report series 894. Geneva:WHO.