You may have heard of using BMI (Body mass index) to work out if you are overweight or not. BMI is often used by doctors all over the world during medical examinations in order to figure out if the patient is classified as clinically obese or not. Carrying too much fat on your body can cause all kinds of health problems, including heart disease and stroke. So, what is the body mass index and how can we work it out?

You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms, by your height in metres squared. You will then get a figure which can be used on a BMI chart to figure out if you are underweight, ideal or overweight. It can give you a good idea about your figure, but may not be accurate if you are athletic and have a lot of muscles. Muscles weigh more than fat and may push up your BMI and portray you as overweight even if you are not.