What Are The Key Things To Know About Men And BMI?

July 1, 2009— -- Question: What are the key things to know about men and BMI?

Answer: The BMI stands for the body mass index and it's a tool that doctors use to measure obesity in men and women. Obesity clearly is a rising epidemic and it's estimated that over half of American adults will be diagnosed as either overweight or obese [at] some time in their life.

So the way we measure BMI, or body mass index, is we take the patient's weight in kilograms and divide that by their height in meters squared. So a number above 25 is classified as overweight. And a number above 30 is classified as obese.

Once we make the diagnosis, we always recommend lifestyle changes first, such as increasing exercise and improving the diet and frequently this is done in conjunction with a nutritionist or dietician. And failing that we always have a variety of medications to consider as well. But we always try lifestyle modifications first.