What Is BMI | How To Calculate Your BMI

Body Mass Index in short is known as BMI. Body mass index is a number which is calculated by using the weight and height of a person and this body mass index roughly shows the total weight of the person which comes from the fat. It is considered the higher your BMI the higher will be fat content in your body. A person is known to be obese if his BMI is over 30, overweight if his BMI is between 25 to 30 and underweight if his body mass index is under 18. The ideal BMI is considered to be between 18.5-24.9 and the person with this ideal BMI is considered to be maintaining an ideal healthy weight.

On a personal note when I last checked my BMI was around 26.9 which is considered overweight. I need to lose a lot of weight at least 10 kilograms. But this method of measuring the fat present in your body has its own drawbacks. Me and my cousin both are of exactly same weight and height but I think the fat content in his body is very less comparing to me because he is a muscular man who is physically very active. This BMI calculations may be good for people who eat more and work (physical) less like me and many other bloggers.
Woman also known to have more fact that is subcutaneous like that fat in the hips, thighs and breasts. And by the way, I remember someone saying that subcutaneous fat is not harmful but the cholesterol which is called LDL or bad cholesterol which is in your blood that is dangerous and can cause heart problems.

How To Calculate Your BMI

The BMI is calculated as using a formula, for standard system it is BMI = [weight / (height x height)] x 703 and metric system it is BMI = [weight / (height x height)].
You do not have to struggle with the formula to calculate your BMI there are many free BMI calculators available on the diet and weight loss websites. The best one I have found is from a website called www.nhlbisupport.com. This website calculate your BMI using both standard and metric .

How To Lower LDL Cholesterol Levels

LDL is an acronym for low density lipoprotein (cholesterol). LDL is commonly called as the bad cholesterol while the HDL high density lipoprotein is considered as good cholesterol. LDL is considered to be bad cholesterol because high level of this cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. It is a healthy habit to keep checking the levels of LDL to prevent any heart ailments caused by the deposits of LDL. Lipid profile a test to measure the level of low density lipoprotein is made to know if a person is having a risk of heart disease or not.


Cholesterol Lowering Diets
When as a part of physical examination, lipids are measured and it was found that LDL is considered to be moderately high in level, the patient will be advised to follow cholesterol lower diet without any prescription for cholesterol lowering medications. But when the LDL level is too high cholesterol lowering medications would be prescribed by the doctor.

To lower LDL levels the cholesterol lowering diets recommended by the physicians consists of diets without fat content (saturated fats). Many food products we eat on a daily basis contain these saturated fats and hydrogenated fats and are found in whole milk, cheese, cream, meat, and poultry. If you are non vegetarian and avoiding it is difficult to you then you can substitute meat with sea food. Fish can be a part of your low LDL diet. Apart from restricting the use of meat, oil, and milk products, the foods to lower LDL consists of a lot of fruits, vegetables, oats, barley, nuts, and legumes.

When the cholesterol levels are too high to be controlled by controlling your diet, cholesterol lowering medications will be produced by the physician to lower the risk of heart diseases. If you already at high risk of heart disease like having family history of heart disease and lifestyle like smoking and drinking excessive alcohol and if you are suffering from other disease like diabetes and hypertension, then it is prudent that you consult your physician to look at your LDL level.

Helpful Books On Lowering Cholesterol