Donna Christiano Campisano is a freelance writer specializing in women and children's health issues. She has written for numerous consumer publications and websites, including Parents, Woman’s Day, ...

When you go in for a wellness exam, oftentimes the first things the medical assistant does is take your height and weight. With this data, the computer spits out your body mass index (BMI) number.

BMI is an estimate of body composition based on weight and height. For people of any sex, a moderate BMI is usually 18.5 to 24.9. For people assigned female at birth, BMI does have some limitations.

Body Mass Index is a measure of body weight to the square of your height. A higher BMI indicates higher and unhealthy body fat, which may lead to various health problems. To determine your BMI, a ...