What is BMI?

Body mass index (BMI) is considered the best measure for overweight.

There are several reasons for this:

• BMI can be used by both children and adults.
• BMI is independent of height and can therefore be used by both high and low people.
• The higher BMI, the more body fat you have.
• The higher BMI, the more often you become ill.
• The higher BMI, the higher risk you have of an earlier death

You can easily calculate your own BMI:

The persons weight in kg / the persons height in metres * the persons height in metres.
If you weigh 90 kg, are 1,8 metre tall, your BMI is = 90 / 1,8 * 1,8 = 27,8.
If you weigh 100kr, are 1,8 metres tall, your BMI is = 100 / 1,8 * 1,8 = 30,9.

BMI has been measured with many thousands of people and thereafter it has been established when a BMI is too high. BMI changes with age.
With adults, the BMI increases until you are middle aged. There is a big difference between BMI with the smallest children and the slightly larger children.

Further reading on BMI and overweight