Understanding BMI: How to Effectively Lower Your Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index, or BMI, measures a person's muscle-to-fat ratio. The higher a person's BMI is, the more fat they have making up their body weight. By lowering your BMI, you decrease your chances of developing diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Through changes in you amount of exercise and diet, you can lower your BMI.

Things You'll Need

• Vegetables
• Whole-wheat flour

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Instructions

• 1

  Exercise once a day for 30 to 60 minutes. Daily exercise will lower your BMI by 5 to 7 percent. Try walking, running or riding a bike.

• 2

  Reduce the amount of sugar you eat each day. Look at the nutrition information on food labels to see how much sugar is in each item. Buy sugar-free or reduced-sugar items.

• 3

  Replace flour with whole-wheat flour. This can help cut down your daily calorie intake, which will help you to lower your BMI.

• 4

  Fill up on vegetables. The more vegetables you eat with each meal, the less bad foods you will be hungry for later.