BMI health check

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BMI health check

• Aim of activityTo understand what is a healthy
  Body Mass Index (BMI) score, how to calculate
  your own, and the role of exercise and diet on
  your BMI.
• Live Long Prosper themeHealthy living
• Skills for Life coveredNumeracy
• Learning outcomesBy the end of the session,
  participants will be able to
• Explain what Body Mass Index means and why it
  matters
• Calculate their own BMI score and know whether
  this is within the healthy range and the
  implications if it is too high or too low
• Use the resources given to work out a plan of
  action to change their BMI to within the healthy
  range
• Resources requiredWeighing scales and tape
  measure (metric)
• Pen and paper (for noting numbers)
• Rulers or other flat-edged object (to read off
  scores on a chart)
• Calculator
• BMI chart available online at
  www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/bigimages/heightweightf
  ull.jpg
• An inflatable toy and a picture of a heavy garden
  ornament
• Flip chart
• Introduction What BMI means and why its useful
  (5 minutes)
• Go through the learning outcomes.

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BMI health check
Main content How to work out a BMI
(15minutes) Give a light hearted demonstration of
the BMI calculation. 1. Measure the inflatable
toys height in metres write on flip chart 2.
Multiply the figure by itself this is the
height squared write on flip chart 3. Measure
the dolls weight in kilograms write on flip
chart 4. Divide the weight by the height squared
step 3 divided by step 2 E.g. if the toy is
1.10m tall and weighs 3 kg the calculation
is 1.10 x 1.10 1.21 3kg divided by 1.21 2.5
a worryingly low BMI Show everyone on the
chart how concerned you are about the inflatable
toy and point out some of the problems associated
with being very underweight. Refer to
handout. Using the picture, repeat the process
for the garden ornament. If the garden ornament
is 1m tall and weighs 50kg the calculation is 1
x 1 1 50 kg divided by 1 50 50 an
incredibly high BMI Oh dear, the garden ornament
is in trouble. Point out the serious health
issues about being so overweight. Refer to
handout. Top Tip!Practice your calculations
first and have them written out, as it can be
very difficult to remember when you have lots of
eager faces looking at you! If you are feeling
brave, now demonstrate the calculation with your
own weight or height! If participants feel
comfortable doing so, give them the opportunity
to work out their own BMI. Encourage people to
work in metres and kilograms, although most
charts have both metric and imperial
measurements. Have tapes and weighing scales
handy if measurements need to be checked. Help
people with any calculations needed. NB Many
people may be self-conscious and may not want to
weigh themselves in public. The handout has
instructions to take home.  Simple Conversions1
stone 6.5kg 1 inch 2.5cm1 foot 30cm 1
pound .5 kg  
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BMI health check
Conclusion/Review (5 minutes)Summarise the
session using the notes in the handout.Direct
participants to further information on BMI and
health (see further resources below). Where to
go for further informationFor information on BMI
and health visitwww.eatwell.gov.uk/healthydiet/h
ealthyweight/bmicalculatorwww.bbc.co.uk/health/he
althy_living/your_weight/whatis_bmi.shtml
www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/your_weight/b
mimetric_index.shtml For information on becoming
healthierwww.nhs.uk/change4lifewww.bbc.co.uk/he
alth/healthy_living The Adult Core Curriculum has
information on numeracy and literacyhttp//excel
lence.qia.org.uk/sflcurriculum www.dcsf.gov.uk/cu
rriculum_numeracycurriculum_numeracywww.dcsf.gov.
uk/curriculum_literacy The BBC Skillswise website
can help with multiplication and
divisionwww.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenu
mbers For advice on addressing literacy and
numeracy issues in the workplacewww.traintogain.
gov.uk - find out about Government support for
training, or to arrange a visit from a skills
broker For more information on Skill for Life for
individualshttp//geton.direct.gov.ukwww.move-o
n.org.uk  
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Fact sheet
BMI health check
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a quick measure you can
use as a guide to see whether you are the
recommended weight for your height. Basically,
the taller you are the more body you have over
which to spread your weight. Your BMI will give
you some idea whether you need to lose (or gain)
weight. As were all different, the BMI is given
as a range rather than an exact weight for your
height. BMI can vary depending on the size of a
persons frame and may vary slightly depending on
gender. Putting it simply, if we eat more food
than we burn off through exercise we will gain
weight, and if we burn more than we eat, we lose
weight. If you eat the equivalent of an extra
bag of crisps per day you will gain a stone in
weight in a year. In the UK, about two in three
adults are now overweight or obese. Of these,
more than one person in five is obese (at least
12.7 - 19 kgs or two to three stone overweight)
putting their health at considerable risk.
Diseases caused or worsened by being obese
include Cancer Heart disease Diabetes Osteoarthr
itis The National Audit Office in 2001 concluded
that obesity could shave an average of nine years
from our lifespan. People with a BMI between 19
and 22 live the longest! If your BMI is too low
and you are female, your periods may stop, you
may become anaemic and later in life suffer from
diseases such as osteoporosis. If your BMI is
higher than it should be, there are lots of
things you can do to bring it down. This will
make you look and more importantly feel much
better and be healthier too. BMI is only one
measure though and you may have other factors you
need to consider, such as other people in your
family suffering from heart disease, for example,
that mean you need to be more careful about your
health and fitness.   Even if your BMI shows that
you are a healthy weight, it is always worthwhile
becoming healthier through doing more exercise
and eating better.   Make a commitment to one
thing you will do differently as a result of
finding out your BMI. Ideas might be to get a
pedometer and try for 10,000 steps a day. You
could try filling half of your plate with greens
and keeping pasta/potatoes portions to the size
of your clenched fist. If you cant give up
chocolate try dark chocolate rather than milk.
You could walk your dog every day or become very
popular by offering to walk someone elses dog!
If its fun you are more likely to stick to it.  
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Working it out
BMI health check

• How to work out your BMI
• There are two things that you need to work out
  your BMI
• Your height
• Your weight
• Weigh yourself and note your weight.
• Ask someone to help you find your height, if you
  dont know it already and make a note of it. You
  can calculate your BMI using a calculator.
• Work out your height in metres and multiply the
  figure by itself (height x height) or height
  squared.
• Work out your weight in kilograms.
• Divide your weight by your height squared.
• The answer is your BMI.
• Example If you are 1.6m (5ft 3in) tall and weigh
  65kg (10st 3lb) the calculation would be
• 1.6 x1.6 2.56 (height squared)
• 65 divided by 2.56 (weight divided by height
  squared)
• BMI 25.39
• What does your BMI mean?
• Your BMI calculation (ranges taken from the
  National Audit Office) means the following
• Under 18.5 Underweight