What is a Healthy Body Mass Index for Men?

The healthy body mass index for men, also often referred to as the BMI, is generally considered to be between 19 and 24.9. If the body mass index falls below 19, a man may be underweight. When the body mass index is at 25 or above, a man is typically considered overweight. A body mass index more than 30 is usually an indicator of obesity. The BMI scale is not always a correct measurement of a person's ideal weight range, because there are some people who work out excessively and may have a body mass index of more than 25 due to extra muscle.

In order for the body mass index for men to be determined, the weight and height must be known. This is how the scale calculates the index number. The higher a person's weight is in proportion to his height, the more likely he is to be either overweight or obese. Additionally, a lower weight compared to height might indicate that a man is underweight. The number a man gets from the BMI scale should probably be considered very general and not a completely accurate estimation of a healthy weight.

The body mass index scale can often be wrong because not only does it not account for people who have lots of extra muscle, but it also doesn't allow for any variances between men and women. In general, a man and woman who are the exact same height might have very different weights even though they both appear to be a normal weight. This is because women tend to have more body fat than men, and men tend to have more muscle than women. If both a man and woman who are not overweight and are the same height checked a BMI scale, it might show that the woman was nearer to being overweight than the man. The number a man gets when trying to determine a healthy body mass index for men isn't always accurate because the scale doesn't account for small differences like these.

A completely accurate estimation of a healthy body mass index for men is probably best received from a medical professional. A doctor or registered dietitian may use the standard BMI scale to get an idea if a person is overweight and then perform his own tests to determine exactly how much weight, if any, a man might need to lose. Doctors and dietitians often measure the amount of abdominal fat a man has. Men who are at a healthy weight on the BMI scale but are carrying lots of weight around their abdomen may still need to alter their eating habits to either eliminate or redistribute this fat.