BMI stands for Body Mass Index, and it’s a is a numerical value that is used by health care professionals and health conscious individuals to measure the relationship between weight and height and provides an estimate of a bodies composition. 

So BMI actually first introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian mathematician named Lambert Jacque Quetelet.

Yup, not only that, but one who specifically said that BMI could not and should not be used as an indicator for the level of fatness in an a person. 

He invented it as a quick and convenient way to to gain oversight of the obesity levels in a population.

Meaning that it was never intended to be a precision personal health indicator indicator, but instead a statistical tool meant to be used for analytics.

Well, that’s not completely true, it just does not for accurately measuring fatness.

Take me as an example, I am 193cm tall and weigh around 115kg, and in pretty good shape, enough to do a 5 day hike, run a half marathon or tackle a 90 minute hot yoga session, yet I am classified as moderately obese!

The reason for this, is that it simply does not take into account enough metrics to be accurate. There are no provisions for waist size, bone density, muscle weight and many other factors that make up a complete obesity and health profile.

While it may not provide a comprehensive picture of an individual’s overall health, it offers a starting point for evaluating weight-related concerns, which can be intimidating for somebody not familiar with the massive amount of technical information involved in our body systems.

When combined with tools like calorie & BMR calculators and an old fashioned tape measure for hip to waist measurements, it paints a pretty accurate picture of an individuals state of health.

While it is not as accurate as we would like it to be, by using BMI as a starting point, you can still get a good oversight of your body. And honestly, you are the only one who knows where you are at on your fitness journey.

While BMI is not perfect, you can still use it to set realistic weight goals, monitor progress, and make informed decisions about your health.

You can find everything else you need to achieve this between our goal-setting and health & fitness sections!

Well, if you’re fit and in shape, I would suggest you check out some of our other great content and find a interesting skill or hobby you would like to develop. 

If however, health and fitness is something you want to work on, then I recommend you establish what your Base metabolic rate (MBR) is, and then determine what your calorie targets are. 

Personally I started my weight loss journey at 30, where I went from 148kg at my heaviest, down to 94kg at my lightest over the course of 2 years.

If you want a good place to start, I would definitely recommend checking out my weight loss story as you will be able to see what a realistic timeline looks like, along with a practical outlook on what works, and what doesn’t, as well as the efforts involved. 

It’s not easy, but it’s easier than you think!