Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsBMI Chart ValuesIdeal BMI Chart RangesBMI DebateMeeting a BMI Target
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
BMI Chart Values
Ideal BMI Chart Ranges
BMI Debate
Meeting a BMI Target
Thebody mass index (BMI)tool is used to determineobesity levelsin populations. Healthcare providers also use it to determine whether their patients are at a healthy weight. That said, some medical professionals are not convinced that BMI is the best way to measure obesity and health because it is limited in checking other health parameters besides weight.
Generally speaking, people who fall into the “healthy weight” category on a BMI chart are more likely to be at a reduced risk of disease related to obesity or overweight. This article looks at the BMI values for women as they pertain to overall health and offers tips for lowering or raising your BMI if you do not fall into the “healthy” category.
A Note on BMIBMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such asbody composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.
A Note on BMI
BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not take into account factors such asbody composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes.
BMI Chart Values for Women
The BMI chart offers different values based on two specific determinants: height and weight. That said, age also plays a role in one’s overall level of health, so that must also be considered.
The values are in numbers, ranging from 12 to 65, with ranges between 19 and 24 falling into the “normal” or healthy range.
A Word From VerywellAlthough BMI is one measure that is commonly used in part to assess a woman’s health, it does not account for a multitude of factors, including genetics, body composition and shape, age, sex, ethnicity, race, and activity level.—AMELIA MACINTYRE, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
A Word From Verywell
Although BMI is one measure that is commonly used in part to assess a woman’s health, it does not account for a multitude of factors, including genetics, body composition and shape, age, sex, ethnicity, race, and activity level.—AMELIA MACINTYRE, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Although BMI is one measure that is commonly used in part to assess a woman’s health, it does not account for a multitude of factors, including genetics, body composition and shape, age, sex, ethnicity, race, and activity level.
—AMELIA MACINTYRE, DO, MEDICAL EXPERT BOARD
Based on Age
Age is not factored into traditional BMI calculations. Because of that, the health parameters of age are ignored when determining a person’s health based on BMI alone.
Based on Height and Weight
The BMI chart strictly considers height and weight when determining someone’s overall level of health. This system is designed to get a general read of someone’s disease risk based on how much they weigh. The ranges of BMI include:
How to Get Your BMI
To calculate your BMI, you can:
How to Calculate Your BMI (Body Mass Index)
Ideal BMI Chart Ranges in Women
The BMI chart is not a one-size-fits-all measure for all women, as the differences in genetics can cause the reading to be faulty when determining someone’s overall level of health.
For example, Black women tend to have more muscle mass than White or Mexican American women, which can skew results.
Another disparity is body composition. Two women of the same weight could hold their fat and muscle mass differently, which could also skew results.
Other groups of women that may not benefit from traditional BMI values include:
BMI and Pregnancy
Study: BMI Measurements Should Be Tailored To Race and Ethnicity
Potential Risks of BMI Values
While BMI can be a useful starting point for determining one’s overall health, it does not take into account many factors that contribute to health scores.
As mentioned above, muscle mass and fat distribution orbody composition, both markers of health, are not included in the BMI measurement. This leaves important data out of the equation. It also leaves out other vital health data, such as a person’s age, bone mass, and biological sex.
The focus on BMI can cause healthcare providers to miss certain health issues in people with a “normal” BMI.For example, high cholesterol can occur in people who are not overweight.
What Is and Isn’t Accurate About BMI (Body Mass Index)
Debate Around BMI Chart Interpretations for Women
When it comes to body composition, thewaist-to-hip ratio (WHR)is an important measurement to indicate health. However, the BMI chart does not take this measurement into account.
The WHR considers where a person stores fat, which is vital in determining disease risk. As women age, using more than just BMI is crucial, as the WHR can change dramatically in older adult females even if BMI stays the same.
In some studies, the WHR was shown to be a better indicator of health than BMI.
Researchers Say Waist-to-Hip Ratio Should Replace BMI—Here’s Why
Lowering or Raising Your BMI: Steps to Meeting a Target
Talking to a Healthcare ProviderMany factors can drive the development of obesity or over- or underweight. That’s why it’s crucial to speak to a healthcare provider to determine your overall level of health, presence or absence of chronic disease, and any other health measures before addressing an atypical BMI.Certain health conditions can make it extremely difficult to lose or gain weight, and getting the help of a healthcare provider in these instances can help you reach your goals.
Talking to a Healthcare Provider
Many factors can drive the development of obesity or over- or underweight. That’s why it’s crucial to speak to a healthcare provider to determine your overall level of health, presence or absence of chronic disease, and any other health measures before addressing an atypical BMI.Certain health conditions can make it extremely difficult to lose or gain weight, and getting the help of a healthcare provider in these instances can help you reach your goals.
Many factors can drive the development of obesity or over- or underweight. That’s why it’s crucial to speak to a healthcare provider to determine your overall level of health, presence or absence of chronic disease, and any other health measures before addressing an atypical BMI.
Certain health conditions can make it extremely difficult to lose or gain weight, and getting the help of a healthcare provider in these instances can help you reach your goals.
Healthy at Every Size? Here’s What Doctors Look for Beyond BMI
Summary
Body mass index is a valuable tool that can be used as a jumping-off point when determining a person’s overall health. However, its use has many pitfalls because it fails to consider many other factors of health, such as body composition, muscle mass, age, and biological sex.
Medical providers continue to use BMI in their investigations, but many in the medical community are beginning to rely on other tools that can help determine a person’s disease risk, such as the waist-to-hip ratio.
Speaking to your healthcare provider about your body weight goals and current level of health is a great start when getting to and maintaining a healthy weight that is also in line with other positive health markers.
13 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Association.Body mass index table 2.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Body mass index table 1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Calculating BMI using the English system.Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr.Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.Obes Rev.2016 Mar;17(3):262-75. doi:10.1111/obr.12358Kruschitz R, Wallner-Liebmann SJ, Hamlin MJ, Moser M, Ludvik B, Schnedl WJ, Tafeit E.Detecting body fat-A weighty problem BMI versus subcutaneous fat patterns in athletes and non-athletes.PLoS One.2013 Aug 26;8(8):e72002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072002Banack HR, Wactawski-Wende J, Hovey KM, Stokes A.Is BMI a valid measure of obesity in postmenopausal women?Menopause.2018 Mar;25(3):307-313. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000989American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Weight Gain During Pregnancy.Golubnitschaja O, Liskova A, Koklesova L, et al.Caution, “normal” BMI: health risks associated with potentially masked individual underweight—EPMA Position Paper 2021.EPMA J. 2021;12(3):243-264. doi:10.1007/s13167-021-00251-4American Heart Association.Common misconceptions about cholesterol.World Health Organization.Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio report of a WHO expert consultation.Sahakyan KR, Somers VK, Rodriguez-Escudero JP, Hodge DO, Carter RE, Sochor O, Coutinho T, Jensen MD, Roger VL, Singh P, Lopez-Jimenez F.Normal-weight central obesity: Implications for total and cardiovascular mortality.Ann Intern Med.2015 Dec 1;163(11):827-35. doi:10.7326/M14-2525UK National Health Service.Healthy ways to gain weight.UK National Health Service.Tips to help you lose weight.
13 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Association.Body mass index table 2.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Body mass index table 1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Calculating BMI using the English system.Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr.Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.Obes Rev.2016 Mar;17(3):262-75. doi:10.1111/obr.12358Kruschitz R, Wallner-Liebmann SJ, Hamlin MJ, Moser M, Ludvik B, Schnedl WJ, Tafeit E.Detecting body fat-A weighty problem BMI versus subcutaneous fat patterns in athletes and non-athletes.PLoS One.2013 Aug 26;8(8):e72002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072002Banack HR, Wactawski-Wende J, Hovey KM, Stokes A.Is BMI a valid measure of obesity in postmenopausal women?Menopause.2018 Mar;25(3):307-313. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000989American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Weight Gain During Pregnancy.Golubnitschaja O, Liskova A, Koklesova L, et al.Caution, “normal” BMI: health risks associated with potentially masked individual underweight—EPMA Position Paper 2021.EPMA J. 2021;12(3):243-264. doi:10.1007/s13167-021-00251-4American Heart Association.Common misconceptions about cholesterol.World Health Organization.Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio report of a WHO expert consultation.Sahakyan KR, Somers VK, Rodriguez-Escudero JP, Hodge DO, Carter RE, Sochor O, Coutinho T, Jensen MD, Roger VL, Singh P, Lopez-Jimenez F.Normal-weight central obesity: Implications for total and cardiovascular mortality.Ann Intern Med.2015 Dec 1;163(11):827-35. doi:10.7326/M14-2525UK National Health Service.Healthy ways to gain weight.UK National Health Service.Tips to help you lose weight.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Association.Body mass index table 2.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Body mass index table 1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Calculating BMI using the English system.Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr.Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.Obes Rev.2016 Mar;17(3):262-75. doi:10.1111/obr.12358Kruschitz R, Wallner-Liebmann SJ, Hamlin MJ, Moser M, Ludvik B, Schnedl WJ, Tafeit E.Detecting body fat-A weighty problem BMI versus subcutaneous fat patterns in athletes and non-athletes.PLoS One.2013 Aug 26;8(8):e72002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072002Banack HR, Wactawski-Wende J, Hovey KM, Stokes A.Is BMI a valid measure of obesity in postmenopausal women?Menopause.2018 Mar;25(3):307-313. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000989American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Weight Gain During Pregnancy.Golubnitschaja O, Liskova A, Koklesova L, et al.Caution, “normal” BMI: health risks associated with potentially masked individual underweight—EPMA Position Paper 2021.EPMA J. 2021;12(3):243-264. doi:10.1007/s13167-021-00251-4American Heart Association.Common misconceptions about cholesterol.World Health Organization.Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio report of a WHO expert consultation.Sahakyan KR, Somers VK, Rodriguez-Escudero JP, Hodge DO, Carter RE, Sochor O, Coutinho T, Jensen MD, Roger VL, Singh P, Lopez-Jimenez F.Normal-weight central obesity: Implications for total and cardiovascular mortality.Ann Intern Med.2015 Dec 1;163(11):827-35. doi:10.7326/M14-2525UK National Health Service.Healthy ways to gain weight.UK National Health Service.Tips to help you lose weight.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Association.Body mass index table 2.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Body mass index table 1.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Calculating BMI using the English system.
Heymsfield SB, Peterson CM, Thomas DM, Heo M, Schuna JM Jr.Why are there race/ethnic differences in adult body mass index-adiposity relationships? A quantitative critical review.Obes Rev.2016 Mar;17(3):262-75. doi:10.1111/obr.12358
Kruschitz R, Wallner-Liebmann SJ, Hamlin MJ, Moser M, Ludvik B, Schnedl WJ, Tafeit E.Detecting body fat-A weighty problem BMI versus subcutaneous fat patterns in athletes and non-athletes.PLoS One.2013 Aug 26;8(8):e72002. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0072002
Banack HR, Wactawski-Wende J, Hovey KM, Stokes A.Is BMI a valid measure of obesity in postmenopausal women?Menopause.2018 Mar;25(3):307-313. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000989
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.Weight Gain During Pregnancy.
Golubnitschaja O, Liskova A, Koklesova L, et al.Caution, “normal” BMI: health risks associated with potentially masked individual underweight—EPMA Position Paper 2021.EPMA J. 2021;12(3):243-264. doi:10.1007/s13167-021-00251-4
American Heart Association.Common misconceptions about cholesterol.
World Health Organization.Waist circumference and waist-hip ratio report of a WHO expert consultation.
Sahakyan KR, Somers VK, Rodriguez-Escudero JP, Hodge DO, Carter RE, Sochor O, Coutinho T, Jensen MD, Roger VL, Singh P, Lopez-Jimenez F.Normal-weight central obesity: Implications for total and cardiovascular mortality.Ann Intern Med.2015 Dec 1;163(11):827-35. doi:10.7326/M14-2525
UK National Health Service.Healthy ways to gain weight.
UK National Health Service.Tips to help you lose weight.
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