One of the best things you can do to protect your good health is get to — and maintain — a healthy body weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)*, being overweight or obese increases your risk for serious health conditions such as:

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Type 2 diabetes
• Coronary heart disease
• Stroke
• Gallbladder disease
• Osteoarthritis
• Sleep apnea and breathing problems
• Some cancers
• Low quality of life
• Mental illness, such as clinical depression, anxiety and other mental disorders
• Body pain and difficulty functioning

That’s why it’s so important to understand what a healthy weight is for you and take steps to try to achieve it.

Know your BMI

Body Mass Index, or BMI, is your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters. BMI isn’t a measure of body fat directly. But research has shown that BMI is moderately correlated with more direct measures of body fat.

A high BMI can indicate high body fat. BMI can be used as a screening tool. But it doesn’t diagnose body fat or health. Even if two people have the same BMI, their level of body fat may differ. Athletes may have a high BMI because they’re more muscular, not because they’re overweight.

The standard BMI weight ranges for adults are:

If your BMI is outside of the normal range, talk with your doctor or other health care provider about healthy strategies for improving it.

*The CDC is an independent organization that offers health information that health plan members may find helpful.