A BMI of 18.5 and 24.5 are both considered within the normal range, but a BMI of 24.5 may be associated with twice the heart disease risk compared to 18.5. You can pause the video here to use this unisex chart to see what your optimal weight might be based on your height.īut, even within a normal BMI, the risk of developing chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and several types of cancer starts to rise towards the upper end, even starting as low as a BMI of 21. That would be about between 124 to 136 pounds for someone who stands 5’6″.

Put all the best available studies with the longest follow-up together, and that can be narrowed down even further to a BMI of 20 to 22. What’s the optimal BMI? The largest studies in the United States and around the world found that having a normal body mass index, a BMI from 20 to 25, is associated with the longest lifespan. The flip side, though, is that even modest weight loss can have major health benefits. According to two famous Harvard studies, weight gain of as little as 11 pounds from early adulthood through middle age increases the risk of major chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Of the four million deaths every year attributed to excess body fat, nearly 40 percent of the victims are just overweight, not obese. If you go back in the medical literature a half century or so, when obesity wasn’t just run-of-the-mill, the descriptions are much more grim: “Obesity is always tragic, and its hazards are terrifying.” But it’s not just obesity. We seem to have become inured to the mortal threat of obesity. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content.

Bmi calculator for anorexic women