Eggland's Best. Body Mass Index BMI Calculator. Skip to main content.

Body mass index -

Being overweight or underweight can have significant health effects, so while BMI is an imperfect measure of healthy body weight, it is a useful indicator of whether any additional testing or action is required. Refer to the table below to see the different categories based on BMI that are used by the calculator.

This is the World Health Organization's WHO recommended body weight based on BMI values for adults. It is used for both men and women, age 20 or older. This is a graph of BMI categories based on the World Health Organization data.

The dashed lines represent subdivisions within a major categorization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC recommends BMI categorization for children and teens between age 2 and Being overweight increases the risk of a number of serious diseases and health conditions.

Below is a list of said risks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC :. As can be seen from the list above, there are numerous negative, in some cases fatal, outcomes that may result from being overweight.

In some cases, being underweight can be a sign of some underlying condition or disease such as anorexia nervosa, which has its own risks. Consult your doctor if you think you or someone you know is underweight, particularly if the reason for being underweight does not seem obvious.

Although BMI is a widely used and useful indicator of healthy body weight, it does have its limitations. BMI is only an estimate that cannot take body composition into account. Due to a wide variety of body types as well as distribution of muscle, bone mass, and fat, BMI should be considered along with other measurements rather than being used as the sole method for determining a person's healthy body weight.

BMI cannot be fully accurate because it is a measure of excess body weight, rather than excess body fat. BMI is further influenced by factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, muscle mass, body fat, and activity level, among others. BMI cannot be fully accurate because it is a measure of excess body weight, rather than excess body fat.

BMI is further influenced by factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, muscle mass, body fat, and activity level, among others. For example, an older person who is considered a healthy weight, but is completely inactive in their daily life may have significant amounts of excess body fat even though they are not heavy.

This would be considered unhealthy, while a younger person with higher muscle composition of the same BMI would be considered healthy.

In athletes, particularly bodybuilders who would be considered overweight due to muscle being heavier than fat, it is entirely possible that they are actually at a healthy weight for their body composition.

Generally, according to the CDC:. The same factors that limit the efficacy of BMI for adults can also apply to children and adolescents. Additionally, height and level of sexual maturation can influence BMI and body fat among children.

BMI is a better indicator of excess body fat for obese children than it is for overweight children, whose BMI could be a result of increased levels of either fat or fat-free mass all body components except for fat, which includes water, organs, muscle, etc.

In thin children, the difference in BMI can also be due to fat-free mass. Below are the equations used for calculating BMI in the International System of Units SI and the US customary system USC using a 5'10", pound individual as an example:.

BMI prime is the ratio of a person's measured BMI to the upper limit of BMI that is considered "normal," by institutions such as the WHO and the CDC. Since BMI prime is a ratio of two BMI values, BMI prime is a dimensionless value. A person who has a BMI prime less than 0.

The table below shows a person's weight classification based on their BMI prime:. BMI prime allows us to make a quick assessment of how much a person's BMI differs from the upper limit of BMI that is considered normal.

It also allows for comparisons between groups of people who have different upper BMI limits. It is normal for your body to store energy as fat. However, too much or too little body fat can increase your risk of illness and disease, depending on where your body stores it.

The amount of fat your body has stored can be accurately measured with a dual-energy absorptiometry or DXA machine. This is known as having a DXA scan. A much cheaper alternative is to estimate your total amount of body fat by calculating your body mass index BMI. BMI is a useful indicator of health at the population level.

However, the distribution of fat on your body is more important that the amount, when assessing your disease risk. For this reason, your waist circumference is thought to be a better predictor of health risk than your BMI.

Increased abdominal obesity is related to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Abdominal obesity is measured using waist circumference. Body mass index BMI is an approximate measure of your best weight for health.

It is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared m 2. BMI is intended for adults only, as children and adolescents are constantly growing.

This makes it difficult to have set values for BMI cut-offs for young people. However, in adults who have stopped growing, an increase in BMI is usually caused by an increase in body fat. You can use the body mass index BMI calculator for adults to calculate your BMI, provided you know your:.

If your BMI is:. For older Australians over the age of 70 years, general health status may be more important than being mildly overweight. At the population level, BMI is used to indicate level of risk for morbidity disease risk and mortality death rates.

Differences in BMI between individual adults of the same age and sex are usually due to body fat, however there are many exceptions to this rule, which is why a BMI figure may not always be accurate.

BMI calculations will overestimate the amount of body fat for:. However, BMI cannot differentiate between body fat and muscle mass.

The benefits of incex a Body mass index weight go Bosy beyond improved energy Fiber for easing constipation smaller clothing sizes. Fiber for easing constipation losing weight Brain health and stress management maintaining a healthy weight, you are also likely indexx enjoy these quality-of-life factors:. BMI is an indicator of the amount of body fat for most people. It is used as a screening tool to identify whether an adult is at a healthy weight. Excess weight increases the heart's work. It also raises blood pressure and blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels and lowers HDL good cholesterol levels. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies Body mass index products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Check Bodh these maass and special offers on books and newsletters from Ijdex Clinic Press. Masx content does not Body mass index an English version. Body mass index content Macronutrient Balance and Athletic Performance Enhancement not have masz Arabic version. Body fat measurement Clinic Press Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press. Mayo Clinic on Incontinence - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic on Incontinence The Essential Diabetes Book - Mayo Clinic Press The Essential Diabetes Book Mayo Clinic on Hearing and Balance - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic on Hearing and Balance FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment - Mayo Clinic Press FREE Mayo Clinic Diet Assessment Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book - Mayo Clinic Press Mayo Clinic Health Letter - FREE book.