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How Obesity is Diagnosed with a BMI Calculator
Diagnosis & Prevention

How Obesity is Diagnosed with a BMI Calculator

Obesity is the accumulation of excess body fat in the body to an extent that it has a negative effect on health. Over two-thirds of adults in the country are obese, and this condition is increasing at an alarming rate among children as well. The main cause of obesity is wrong eating habits and lack of physical activities. Being obese increases the risk of developing cancer, heart-related problems, diabetes, and other diseases. It also heightens the risk of premature death. Those who are weight conscious are familiar with the term Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator. A BMI calculator is mostly used as a measure of obesity by physicians due to its simplicity. The Body Mass Index is calculated using a mathematical formula wherein a person’s weight in kilograms is divided by the square of height in meters. BMI has been used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a standard for recording obesity statistics since the early 1980s. This index provides a numeric measure of whether a person is over or underweight. On the basis of the value of BMI, one can classify a population, with the average physique as follows: A BMI below 18.5 is considered as underweight A BMI 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy weight or normal A BMI 25 to 29.9 is considered as overweight A BMI 30 and over is considered as obese A BMI 40 and over is considered as severe obesity However, studies show that a BMI Calculator, which is based on the height and weight of a person, is not an entirely accurate measure of body fat content and does not consider muscle mass.

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