Contents
Understand Your Health: How BMI Calculator for Men Can Help You Choose the Right Saving Plans
Monitoring one’s health is essential not just for well-being but also for financial planning. A body mass index (BMI) calculator makes it easy to track health status. BMI provides a snapshot of whether one’s weight is healthy, which can affect savings and insurance needs. Read on to learn about the significance of BMI, how it affects financial planning, especially health and term insurance premiums, and practical tips on optimising BMI for better savings.
What is BMI?
BMI stands for body mass index. It is a calculation stemming from your height and weight measurements. Online BMI calculators instantly compute your personal BMI number. This numeric score correlates with body fat. Standard weight status categories emerge after comparing your BMI against fixed ranges.
For adults 20 years and older, here is the standard BMI spectrum:
- Below 18.5 is underweight
- 5 to 24.9 is healthy weight
- 0 to 29.9 is overweight
- 0 and above is obese
Knowing your BMI empowers you to gauge future health risks. Adjusting nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle factors can bring BMI into the safest zone. Wise savings plans also consider BMI projections.
How do BMI Calculators work?
First, determine your current height and weight. Then, enter these measurements into any online BMI calculator tool. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight by the height squared. There’s no need for complex maps or charts to get the final number.
Online calculators instantly perform the math. Just input your weight in pounds or kilograms and height in feet/inches or centimetres. Click “compute” for lightning-fast BMI results.
Compare your unique BMI against the standard weight status benchmarks for adults. Location inside the “healthy” BMI zone means lower risks for developing:
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Breathing issues
- Joint damage
- Certain cancers
What Does Your BMI Mean?
Ideally, most men seek BMI results in the 18.5 – 24.9 “healthy” range. If your BMI falls on the lower end (under 18.5), being underweight has associated risks, too. These include vitamin/mineral deficiencies, osteoporosis in later years, decreased immunity, and fertility issues.
On the higher end, BMIs in the “overweight” and “obese” categories may require interventions. Excess weight strains bodily structures and functions. Vital organs like the heart have to overwork. Cells can become insensitive to insulin, ramping up diabetes risk. Additional body fat raises chances for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and worsened arthritis. Up to 13 different cancer types also correlate with overweight and obese BMIs.
How BMI Affects Men’s Savings Goals?
BMI influences financial planning in two key ways:
1. Health Insurance Premiums
Insurers price health insurance policies based on the policyholder’s risk profile. People with higher BMI (overweight/obese) are seen as higher risk due to the associated diseases mentioned earlier. Hence, they pay higher premiums for equivalent health coverage.
Maintaining a healthier BMI can lead to long-term saving plans on premiums. For example, if Raj reduces his BMI from 28 to 24 through diet and exercise, he may get 10-15% off on premiums, which translates into ₹5,000+ annual savings.
2. Term Insurance Premiums
Like health plans, term life premiums differ based on the policyholder’s BMI status. Insurers assume lower life expectancy and a higher risk of early death among overweight or obese people, so term premiums are priced upwards for this group.
The premium difference can be even more significant than health plans quickly 20-30% lower for those with a BMI in the 18.5-24.9 range. A ₹1 crore term plan taken at age 30 could mean savings of ₹5,000-8,000 per year.
Over a 30-year policy period, the total savings can exceed ₹2 lakhs just by maintaining a healthy BMI!
How Men Can Optimise BMI To Meet Savings Goals?
The first step is calculating current BMI using standard online/offline BMI calculators. These require manual input of height and weight.
If your BMI is over 24.9, here are some tips to gradually reduce it to the healthy range:
- Consult a dietitian: An expert can design a personalised Indian diet plan limiting calorie intake to ~1500-2000 per day depending on one’s height/weight/activity levels. This generally leads to a safe weight loss of 0.5-1 kg per week.
- Increase physical activity: Alongside diet, progressively increasing exercise levels facilitate weight loss. As per WHO, all adults should target at least 150 minutes of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes of energetic exercise, like running, every week. This boosts metabolism, which burns more calories.
- Check BMI monthly: Periodic BMI tracking provides feedback on whether the lifestyle changes work. If BMI reduces by about 0.5 every month, it indicates one is on the right track.
- Set specific BMI targets: Defining goals, such as lowering one’s BMI to below 25 in 6 months, motivates one. If progress stalls, further diet/exercise modification may be needed.
Conclusion
Maintaining a BMI in the healthy range not only promotes better health but also leads to tangible financial benefits, such as lower insurance premiums. This can free up funds for other vital savings goals like retirement or education. Individuals can achieve health and financial targets more efficiently by monitoring and managing BMI through proper diet and exercise. Taking charge of your health today can help you meet your financial goals faster and more effectively.
To check your BMI contact PNB MetLife.
