How to Use an Online BMI Calculator for Gastric Sleeve Patients
The gastric sleeve procedure is a substantial and life-altering surgery that greatly affects a patient’s health and well-being. To best understand the benefits and risks of this surgery, it’s important first to understand an individual’s body mass index (BMI). This article will guide you through how to use an online BMI calculator for gastric sleeve patients.
What Is BMI?
BMI is a measure of body fat calculated using height and weight. It helps medical professionals assess whether a person’s weight is too high, too low, or within a healthy range. A healthy BMI ranges from 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, where anything below 18.5 kg/m2 is considered underweight, and anything over 24.9 kg/m2 is considered overweight. Many insurance companies require an individual to be at least 18.5kg/m2 before they can approve the gastric sleeve procedure; therefore, understanding your BMI is essential in understanding if you are eligible for the surgery.
What Is the Gastric Sleeve Procedure?
The gastric sleeve procedure dramatically reduces the size of your stomach by about 80%, leading to feeling full faster with smaller portions, ultimately leading to weight loss without disrupting your metabolism or nutrition needs due to leaving some of the normal digestive systems intact during the process. This procedure can reduce major health problems caused by obesity, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, joint pain, depression, and sleep apnea. However, risks such as postoperative complications still exist with any surgery involving anaesthesia. Hence, potential patients need to consult their physician before proceeding with this decision-making process.
How Do I Calculate My BMI?
Luckily, many free online calculators are available that will calculate your BMI given just a few simple inputs (your height and weight). Using one of these calculators can give you a very good idea of whether you would benefit from having a gastric sleeve procedure done or not – but please remember that it should only be used as an indication, not as professional medical advice! Here are two popular calculators:
Once you have determined your BMI range feel free to use our blog posts about pre-operative guidelines for gastric sleeve patients (here) and why it’s important to get professional medical advice before undergoing this kind of surgery (here). In addition, please check out our sister site dedicated solely to covering topics related specifically to gastric sleeve procedures here ([Website URL]).
