With studies revealing new insights into body weight and health issues, people no longer talk about body weight by itself. For quite some time, the body mass index or BMI has been the accepted form of determining the ideal weight of a person, and the deviation from this ideal weight that needs to be corrected. This is the weight of a person expressed as a ratio of his height.

Simply spoken, the BMI is expressed as the body weight in kgs/the height in sq. meters.

People with elevated BMIs have been known to be more susceptible to diabetes mellitus, cancer, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Research also reveals that people with higher BMIs have higher incidences of premature death. It is generally recommended that a person’s BMI should remain in the range of 18.5 - 24.9. People having lower BMIs are said to be underweight, whereas those having higher (25-29.9) are overweight. People with BMIs greater than 30 are said to be obese and should be seriously concerned about weight loss and lifestyle control.

However, recently, experts have started pointing out some limitations of the BMI measurement as an ideal tool to determine healthy weight. It does not distinguish between fat mass and fat free mass, which may yield incorrect interpretations. Fat free mass, that is, lean muscle, is actually desirable as it burns fat. People with more lean tissue may have a higher BMI and yet be healthier compared to people with higher fat percentage and a lower BMI.

Furthermore, recent research points out that the location of the body fat is important in deciding propensity towards developing a disease. BMI does not give any indication of about the location of body fat in an overweight or obese person. Recent developments suggest that the body fat expressed as a percentage of total body weight is a better indicator of health. A person with low body fat is deemed healthier than a person having the right BMI but more fat.