Accurate BMI Calculator
Doctors, dieticians, researchers and even certain government agencies sensed the need for a common standard to assess healthy weight. This prompted the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to implement the BMI guidelines in June 1998 in the place of the once favored insurance tables to assess the healthy weight. With the broad application of BMI, a pervading question is: How true is an accurate BMI calculator?
The BMI is determined by dividing the weight in pounds by the height in inches squared. The quotient is multiplied by a conversion factor which is 703. Hypothetically, for a person with a height of 5 feet 5 inches (65 inches) and with a weight of 150 pounds, the BMI calculation will be: 150÷ (65)2 X 703 = 24.96. Generally, women feel comfortable with BMI between 20 to 22 while men feel better with BMI of 23 to 25. A longer longevity comes with a BMI that falls between 17 to 22.
It must be noted, however, that accurate BMI calculator does not take into account age, gender or muscle mass. There is no distinction between fat mass and lean body mass. Consequently, normal BMIs may look normal for aging people with less muscle and abnormally high for athletes who have lots of developed muscles. Further, it is not just the fats in the body that can usher health problems; it is also their points of deposition. It is better for the fats to find their way in the hip rather than on the waist which is more unhealthy.
The healthy weight is defined by Body Mass Index (BMI) that is derived from the height and the weight of an individual. It imakes an effective screening tool for weight categories but is unproductive in the diagnosis of health issues. Thus, the possible health conditions that one may be predisposed to can be assessed but not their diagnosis. For it to be meaningful it needs to be related to other measurements of body fats, symptoms of the disorder, diet, exercise patterns as well as family history.
Many health experts doubt if accurate BMI calculator is really precise. Waist circumference seem to serve as a better parameter of body fat better by medical professionals.