Obesity has become an epidemic in today's world of automation. We owe this mostly to our sedentary lifestyle. With the advent of modern day devices and gadgets, people are getting more and more used to doing things with minimum effort in shortest possible time and are hence burning lesser calories than ever. Obesity is a health hazard, and all of us are aware that the incidence of heart attacks, high blood pressure, arthritis, and many such diseases have increased many folds over the years due to this medical condition. Television, video games, and play stations are largely responsible for making us increasingly inactive. Unhealthy eating habits, work pressures, inadequate sleep, and inadequate physical activity are the major causes of obesity which is has become the underlying cause of various diseases afflicting the human population today.
So, the most important question that needs to be answered is how to find out if one is obese. Merely, measuring one's weight is not an indicator of obesity. Our body, as we all know, is made up of muscles, fat and bone. For measuring obesity, we need to take all these into account. Therefore, along with a person's weight, fat percentage, waist-circumference, and body mass index (BMI) are important indicators for judging if a person is overweight or not.
Although, BMI (also known as the Quetlet Index) is not a direct measurement of fat, it has proved to be one of the simplest methods for calculating a person's fat content. Therefore, it is widely used in all types of clinical and non-clinical settings to determine whether someone is underweight, normal, or overweight.
Overweight can be calculated by dividing the weight in kilogram by the square of height in meters. Its unit is (kg)/ (m)2. It can also be measured in pounds by taking the weight (lbs), multiplying it by 703, and dividing it by the square of height (inches). A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered as underweight, that of between 18.5 to 25 is considered as the desirable or normal weight, over 25 is considered as overweight, while over 30 is rated as obese.
There are certain variations to BMI as it doesn't take into account the age, the sex, and the physical state of a person. In women and in the elderly population, the actual body fat may be more than that of indicated by the BMI, while it may be overestimated in athletes as they have more lean mass.
Body Mass Analyzers are accurate in calculating the BMI as compared to the manual mathematical method. They can also display the weight and fat percentage along with the BMI, all in a matter of a few seconds.
It is important to find out how much fat one has in order to try and achieve the right body composition. After all, knowing our body mass composition is the first step towards dealing with weight issues.
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