Body Mass Index

What is your optimal weight? A team of British researchers studied 7,700 men for 15 years to determine what constitutes the perfect balance. Remind me to become a British researcher. First though, the formula:

SPECIAL NOTE: If you're under the age of 20, there is a different calculation to determine your correct Body Mass Index. Click Here to visit that calculator on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website.

Enter your weight in pounds:

Enter your height in feet and inches: Ft. In.

Your Body Mass Index is:

According to the Panel on Energy, Obesity, and Body Weight Standards published by American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, your category is:

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This formula calculates your weight-to-height ratio, or height-to-weight. Either way, it is a measure of general fitness and health. The goal is to have the ratio, or Body Mass Index (BMI) equal about 22, although it should be noted that anything under 25 is considered healthy.

What those enviable British researchers found was that the lowest combined rate of heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and even death occurred in men whose BMI was between 20 and 23.9. Once your BMI gets higher than that, disease and death rates start rising about 10 percent per index point - or about every six to eight pounds for most people (depending on height). "But, I'm a bodybuilder. Does this really apply to me?" Yes. You can get away with a higher BMI, but even for you, a BMI of over 30 isn't healthy.

You can also download a TABLE that shows BMI. Click on the ADOBE PDF LINK on the left for a table from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.