Does my BMI tell me if I need to lose weight?

Generally, BMI is a good guide as to whether you need to lose weight. But it has limitations.

It is possible for a very strong athletic person to have a BMI over 25 because of increased muscle bulk rather than excess fat.

On the other hand, you might have a BMI in the normal range even though you have too much fat and not enough muscle.

And this is very important: if you have a normal BMI but an increased waist circumference, you are at higher risk than someone with a raised BMI and normal waist circumference.

The reason why BMI correlates with risk is that people with a BMI over 30 generally have an increased waist circumference and excess visceral fat.

The INTERHEART study and other research has shown that it is waist circumference rather than BMI that is truly related to risk.

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