Health Tip: How to Calculate Your BMI

(HealthDay News) -- Body mass index (BMI) is a calculation that evaluates the ratio of your weight to height to determine if you are at a healthy body weight.

BMI is often used to predict a person''s risk of diseases associated with obesity, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and other conditions.

A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 to 34.9 is considered obese. Any score higher than 35 is considered morbidly obese.

Here are the steps to calculate your BMI, courtesy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• Multiply your height in inches by itself (height in inches squared).
• Divide your weight in pounds by the result of the first calculation.
• Multiply the result by 703 to calculate your BMI.
  BMI = [weight (lb) / height (in)2] x 703
• Or, take your weight in kilograms and divide it by your height in meters squared.
• Compare your score to recommendations for a healthy BMI.

-- Diana Kohnle

Last Updated: Sept. 13, 2006