SaleemTracking weight and BMI at home
How to weigh yourself consistently, how Saleem works out your BMI from your height, and why BMI stays a rough number to discuss with your doctor.
Weight changes during the day with food, water and clothes. So what matters is not one day's number but the trend over weeks. For the trend to be right, you need to weigh yourself the same way every time.
How to weigh yourself consistently
- The same scale every time, on a level floor.
- The same time, ideally in the morning after using the toilet and before eating.
- Light, similar clothes.
- The frequency you agreed with your doctor; what matters is using similar conditions so the trend is easier to understand.
Log your weight in Saleem
Weight has its own card on the home screen. Type the number in kilograms and save. You see your weight chart for the last 30 days, and your health profile is updated automatically.
What is BMI?
It is a number worked out from weight and height: weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in metres. For example, someone weighing 80 kg who is 1.72 m tall: 80 ÷ (1.72 × 1.72) ≈ 27.
Saleem works it out for you once you enter your height in "Profile and health details", and shows the general World Health Organization category for adults:
- Below 18.5: below the normal range.
- 18.5 to under 25: within the normal range.
- 25 to under 30: overweight.
- 30 or more: obesity.
Why it is only a rough number
BMI does not tell muscle from fat, and does not fully account for age or body shape. It can be high in a muscular person and reassuring in someone who has lost muscle with age. That is why Saleem shows it for information only, and your doctor decides what suits you.
Target weight and weekly notes
You can enter a target weight agreed with your doctor. In "This week", Saleem writes short notes from your own numbers:
- When your weight changed by half a kilogram or more within a month.
- When it changed by 5% or more within a month, to draw your attention to it.
- When you have not logged your weight for more than two weeks.
A fast change in weight with no clear reason is worth mentioning to your doctor.
Read also the quick guide, or create your account and log your weight this week.