The Body Mass Index is determined according to your weight and height. It is a reliable an indication of your body fat and gives an idea of your diet. It is used to detect overweight and obesity in adults.

As you BMI goes up, it increases the risk of a host of diseases, such as heart arrest, hypertension, stroke, sleep apnea, arthritis, osteoporosis etc.

Mauritians in genera does not know their BMI and cannot even calculate it. A scale, an electronic calculator and a centimetre are more than enough to calculate your BMI.

To  calculate your body mass index (BMI), divide your weight by your height squared. The formula is as follow :

 BMI = Weight (kg) ÷ Height2 (m)

If this seems too barbarous to you, try the following simple steps :

First divide your weight in kilograms (kg) by your height in metres (m)

Then divide the answer by your height again, to get your BMI

For example:

If you weigh 80kg and you're 1.80m tall: divide 80 by 1.80. The answer is 44.5.

Then divide 44.5 by 1.80. The answer is 24.7. This is your BMI.

Use the following table to know if you are normal, overweight, obese or morbidly obese :

You can also use an online BMI calculator if you so wishes, available in English and metric measurement at the following site:

http://www.formyhealth.com/calc-bmi.htm