Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFormulasBMI With KilogramsBMI With PoundsOther BMI ToolsInterpretationHealth RisksPros and ConsAlternatives
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Formulas
BMI With Kilograms
BMI With Pounds
Other BMI Tools
Interpretation
Health Risks
Pros and Cons
Alternatives
Calculating your body mass index (BMI) involves using a simple formula with your weight (in pounds or kilograms) and height (in inches or meters). BMI is used to estimate your body fat and establish whether you are underweight, at your healthy weight,overweight, or haveobesity.
BMI can also be used to assess your risk for certain health conditions, likeheart disease. Even so, BMI can mean different things as you get older or if you are of high or low fitness level. Itsflaws and limitationsas a health metric are well-documented.
The article shows you how to calculate BMI and what it says about your health. It also describes the pros and cons of BMI scores and what they mean and don’t mean.
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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.
How to Calculate BMI
The calculations are described in the following formulas:
Here are examples of how to apply those formulas:
Example 1: Calculating BMI With Kilograms
If a person weighs 75 kilograms and is 1.75 meters tall, you would calculate the BMI as follows:
The BMI for this person is 24.5.
Example 2: Calculating BMI With Pounds
If a person weighs 180 pounds and is 70 inches tall, you would calculate the BMI as follows:
The BMI for this person is 25.8.
Online BMI calculatorsare also available online and as smartphone apps.
Other BMI Calculation Tools
The following handy reference charts can help you find your BMI based on your height and weight. There is also a reference chart for children 2 years and over.
BMI Chart for Adults
Verywell
BMI Chart for Children
What Do BMI Scores Mean?
The optimum range for a healthy BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Anything above and below these values is technically considered underweight and overweight, respectively.
Body mass index scores are broken down into the following categories:
Obesity is sometimes broken down into additional categories:
BMI Chart for Women of All Ages
How BMI Affects Your Health
BMI scores in the overweight and obese categories can indicate that a person is at higher risk of diseases like:
Excess body fat has been linked to an increased risk of a number of health problems, but it’s important to remember that BMI calculations alone can’t diagnose health issues—just identify possible red flags.
Researchers Say Waist-to-Hip Ratio Should Replace BMI—Here’s Why
Pros and Cons of BMI
However, it also has significant limitations. As a tool, a BMI score has no real diagnostic value but is rather used to help calculate your risk of certain diseases (such as with a cardiac risk estimator).
Even with conditions likemetabolic syndrome, a BMI plays no part in the diagnosis of the condition (although it can help set weight loss goals for someone who has been diagnosed).
BMI can also be a false alarm for a significant number of people due to the factors that BMI does not account for.
Here are five examples:
For this reason, some experts now argue that BMI interpretations need to be tailored for specific groups.
Who Shouldn’t Use BMI?BMI should not be used in children under 2 years of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using BMI to screen for overweight and obesity in children beginning at 2 years old.
Who Shouldn’t Use BMI?
BMI should not be used in children under 2 years of age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using BMI to screen for overweight and obesity in children beginning at 2 years old.
BMI and People of Color
What Are the Alternatives to BMI?
Some have called for “retiring” BMI because of these limitations. While its disadvantages are widely accepted, BMI remains in use partly because of its simplicity and convenience.
Even so, there are other methods for measuring body fat and/or assessing health risks that can be used in place of (or in addition to) BMI, such as:
More sophisticated methods of measurement can also be found in specialist or research settings, including:
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Summary
Body mass index (BMI) is a calculation used to estimate your body fat. Based on the BMI score, you may be categorized as being underweight, of normal weight, overweight, or having obesity. The BMI score may also be used to estimate your risk of certain diseases, like heart disease.
BMI has a number of limitations. It does not take into account your age, race, sex, fitness level, or muscle mass. As such, the same BMI can mean very different things in different people.
Multiple factors need to be considered when determining what a “healthy” body weight is. BMI is only one value of many and one that cannot be used on its own to diagnose any disease.
10 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.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult BMI categories.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.BMI tools.Provencher MT, Chahla J, Sanchez G, et al.Body Mass Index Versus Body Fat Percentage in Prospective National Football League Athletes: Overestimation of Obesity Rate in Athletes at the National Football League Scouting Combine.J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Apr;32(4):1013-1019. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002449Harvard Health Publishing.How useful is the body mass index (BMI)?Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Body fat.Golzarri-Arroyo L, Mestre LM, Allison DB.What’s New in Understanding the Risk Associated With Body Size and Shape? Pears, Apples, and Olives on Toothpicks.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(7):e197336. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.7336National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Assessing your weight and health risk.Zhu S, Heymsfield SB, Toyoshima H, Wang Z, Pietrobelli A, Heshka S.Race-Ethnicity-Specific Waist Circumference Cutoffs for Identifying Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors.Am J Clin Nutr.2005 Feb;81(2):409-15. doi:10.1093/ajcn.81.2.409Harvard Health Publishing.Why worry about your waistline?Lemos T, Gallagher D.Current body composition measurement techniques.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2017;24(5):310-314. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000360
10 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.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult BMI categories.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.BMI tools.Provencher MT, Chahla J, Sanchez G, et al.Body Mass Index Versus Body Fat Percentage in Prospective National Football League Athletes: Overestimation of Obesity Rate in Athletes at the National Football League Scouting Combine.J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Apr;32(4):1013-1019. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002449Harvard Health Publishing.How useful is the body mass index (BMI)?Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Body fat.Golzarri-Arroyo L, Mestre LM, Allison DB.What’s New in Understanding the Risk Associated With Body Size and Shape? Pears, Apples, and Olives on Toothpicks.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(7):e197336. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.7336National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Assessing your weight and health risk.Zhu S, Heymsfield SB, Toyoshima H, Wang Z, Pietrobelli A, Heshka S.Race-Ethnicity-Specific Waist Circumference Cutoffs for Identifying Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors.Am J Clin Nutr.2005 Feb;81(2):409-15. doi:10.1093/ajcn.81.2.409Harvard Health Publishing.Why worry about your waistline?Lemos T, Gallagher D.Current body composition measurement techniques.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2017;24(5):310-314. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000360
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.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult BMI categories.National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.BMI tools.Provencher MT, Chahla J, Sanchez G, et al.Body Mass Index Versus Body Fat Percentage in Prospective National Football League Athletes: Overestimation of Obesity Rate in Athletes at the National Football League Scouting Combine.J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Apr;32(4):1013-1019. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002449Harvard Health Publishing.How useful is the body mass index (BMI)?Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Body fat.Golzarri-Arroyo L, Mestre LM, Allison DB.What’s New in Understanding the Risk Associated With Body Size and Shape? Pears, Apples, and Olives on Toothpicks.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(7):e197336. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.7336National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Assessing your weight and health risk.Zhu S, Heymsfield SB, Toyoshima H, Wang Z, Pietrobelli A, Heshka S.Race-Ethnicity-Specific Waist Circumference Cutoffs for Identifying Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors.Am J Clin Nutr.2005 Feb;81(2):409-15. doi:10.1093/ajcn.81.2.409Harvard Health Publishing.Why worry about your waistline?Lemos T, Gallagher D.Current body composition measurement techniques.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2017;24(5):310-314. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000360
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Adult BMI categories.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.BMI tools.
Provencher MT, Chahla J, Sanchez G, et al.Body Mass Index Versus Body Fat Percentage in Prospective National Football League Athletes: Overestimation of Obesity Rate in Athletes at the National Football League Scouting Combine.J Strength Cond Res. 2018 Apr;32(4):1013-1019. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000002449
Harvard Health Publishing.How useful is the body mass index (BMI)?
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.Body fat.
Golzarri-Arroyo L, Mestre LM, Allison DB.What’s New in Understanding the Risk Associated With Body Size and Shape? Pears, Apples, and Olives on Toothpicks.JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(7):e197336. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.7336
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Assessing your weight and health risk.
Zhu S, Heymsfield SB, Toyoshima H, Wang Z, Pietrobelli A, Heshka S.Race-Ethnicity-Specific Waist Circumference Cutoffs for Identifying Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors.Am J Clin Nutr.2005 Feb;81(2):409-15. doi:10.1093/ajcn.81.2.409
Harvard Health Publishing.Why worry about your waistline?
Lemos T, Gallagher D.Current body composition measurement techniques.Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2017;24(5):310-314. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000360
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