The most recent and most complete BMI study (1999; more than one million Americans) revealed the following range of "healthiest" BMIs: for men, 23.5 to 25.0; for women, 22.0 to 23.5.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute believes that you are overweight if you have a BMI above 25.0, and that this degree of overweight increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other illnesses.
Medical research has shown that overweight individuals who lose weight through exercise and/or dieting can significantly decrease their risk of heart disease, diabetes and other illnesses.
A regular running program provides one of the best ways to lose weight or maintain healthy weight. Each mile you cover will burn approximately 125 calories.
Running long and slow burns a higher percentage of fat calories, and teaches your body to become more efficient at fatburning, which gives you more endurance for long runs and marathons.
Running shorter and faster burns more total calories per minute or mile, which helps you lose weight, including body fat. Faster running also increases your "afterburn" - the calories your body continues burning after your run stops. We believe it is a good idea to mix longer runs and faster runs in your workout program.
BMIs below 20.7 (for men) and 19.1 (for women) are considered unhealthy.