At Healthstone Primary Care Partners in Weston, Davie, and Pembroke Pines, Florida, our primary care providers use a variety of tools when evaluating your health. We check blood pressure for hypertension, lipid levels for high cholesterol, and glucose numbers for diabetes.
But one of the simplest tools we use to assess health is your body mass index (BMI). We like BMI because it’s quick and easy and gives us a general picture of your overall physical health. You can even check your BMI yourself using a BMI calculator.
But before you go check your BMI, you need to understand what your number means and what it says about your health.
BMI is a measurement score that compares your weight to your height to estimate body composition, or the amount of excess body fat you have. Carrying excess body fat puts you at increased risk for serious medical conditions.
Your BMI score places you into a weight type. Here’s what your number means:
Your BMI gives you a general indication of your weight-related health risks. In general, a BMI score that falls into an overweight or obese weight type means you have a greater risk of weight-related health problems like high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.
While it’s important to know your BMI, it’s also important to understand its limitations. BMI is just a reference tool and not the only marker used to assess your health and risk of disease.
A BMI measurement can overestimate or underestimate your health risks. Though you can check your own BMI online, it’s best to get health care advice about your weight and how it might affect your health from medical professionals.
Muscular people may have a BMI measurement that places them in the overweight category. Their weight is higher than what’s considered “healthy” because they have more muscle. In this case, BMI isn’t a good marker of overall health. A fit, muscular person with a higher BMI is in good health.
Similarly, older people may have a BMI that places them in the healthy or underweight category, but they may have an unhealthy amount of body fat. You lose muscle mass as you get older, changing your body composition. In addition to the health risks of excess fat, muscle loss affects strength and balance, increasing your risk for falls.
When using weight and body composition as a marker for health, medical experts use BMI in combination with waist circumference to more accurately measure health risks. Larger waist measurements are associated with an increased risk for many health issues, including cardiovascular problems.
BMI is one tool we use to assess your weight and risk for weight-related diseases. But it doesn’t necessarily provide a complete picture of your overall health.
Annual physical exams are the best tool you have for staying in good health. During this exam, we check your BMI and all the other factors that put you at risk of developing health problems. We also get a chance to see how your health has changed over the past year, which can serve as a motivator to take action.
If it’s been more than a year since your last full physical examination, it’s time to schedule your annual wellness visit. Request an appointment by calling our office most convenient for you or booking online today.
