Find your weight on the bottom of the graph. Go straight up from that point until you come to the line that matches your height. Then look to find your Body Mass Index (BMI).
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•BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 refers to a healthy weight. Your healthy body weight range is the one between the dotted lines of 18.5 and 25 for your height.
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•BMI from 25 to 29.9 refers to being moderately overweight.
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•BMI of 30 or higher refers to being severely overweight.
A Body Mass Index (BMI) above the healthy range is less healthy for most people; but it may be fine if you have lots of muscle and little fat. In general, though, if your BMI is above the healthy range, you may benefit from weight loss.
Also, measure around your waist, just above your hip bones, while standing. Health risks increase as waist measurement increases, particularly if waist is greater than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men. Excess abdominal fat may place you at greater risk of health problems, even if your BMI is about right.
In addition, use the box below to find out how many other risk factors you have for chronic disease. The more of these risk factors you have, the more you are likely to benefit from weight loss if you are overweight or obese.
Risk Factors for Chronic Disease
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•Personal or family history of heart disease.
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•Being a male older than 45 years or a postmenopausal female.
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•Smoking and secondhand smoke.
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•A sedentary lifestyle.
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•High blood pressure.
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•Abnormal blood lipids (high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides).
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•Diabetes.
In summary, the higher your BMI and waist measurement, and the more risk factors you have for chronic disease, the more you are likely to benefit from weight loss.
