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BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It's your weight in kilograms divided by your height in meters squared (BMI = kg ÷ m²). The World Health Organization uses BMI as a quick screening tool for population-level weight categories.

The WHO classifies BMI 18.5 to 24.9 as normal weight. Below 18.5 is underweight, 25 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30 or above is obese. These categories apply to adults of average build, not athletes or the elderly.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the calories your body burns at complete rest. TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is BMR multiplied by an activity factor that covers movement, exercise, and digestion. TDEE is what you actually burn in a day, and BMR is roughly 60 to 70% of it for most people.

For sustainable fat loss, eat around 500 kcal below your TDEE per day. This produces about 0.45 kg (1 lb) of fat loss per week. Larger deficits speed things up short-term but raise the risk of muscle loss, fatigue, and rebound weight gain.

BMI-based body fat estimates use the Deurenberg (1991) formula and have a typical error of about ±4 percentage points. They work as a rough guide. For accuracy, use a DEXA scan, BIA scale, or trained calipers.

Not on its own. BMI doesn't distinguish muscle from fat, so athletic people often score as overweight despite low body fat. VitalDash flags this with a Reality Check when measured body fat is low but BMI is high. Pair BMI with body fat percentage and waist measurement for a fuller picture.

Sustainable fat loss is roughly 0.5 to 1% of body weight per week. For an 80 kg person, that's about 0.4 to 0.8 kg weekly, or 1.6 to 3.2 kg per month. The first week often shows more loss because of water and glycogen, and plateaus later are normal.

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