Body Mass Index Calculator for Men & Women

As mentioned, the Body Mass Index (BMI) helps you determine if your body weight is healthy relative to your height. It considers your body shape and a number of other factors to establish a healthy weight range for your height.

A higher BMI generally indicates more body fat for most people. However, you must remember that it is not always accurate. Healthcare providers use BMI along with other tools and tests to assess your overall health status and risks.

You can calculate your BMI using a body mass index calculator through these simple steps:

1. Explore and find a BMI calculator

2. Enter your height and weight using standard or metric measures

3. Select the ‘Compute BMI’ option to view your BMI on the screen

You can check the ideal BMI range for adult men and women from the BMI reference chart. The table below shows what different readings denote as per the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommendations:

The BMI for children is different from adults due to various factors. Refer to the table below for the recommended BMI according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

Obesity occurs when there is an excessive build-up of body fat. This can increase the risk of severe health problems. Here are some of the significant risks linked to obesity:

• Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a condition that includes elevated blood glucose levels. It is also commonly known as blood sugar. If you fail to manage it on time, high blood glucose can result in serious health complications. These include heart disease, stroke, kidney issues, eye problems, nerve damage, and more.

• Heart Problems

Heart disease includes various problems with your heart. These include heart attacks, heart failure, chest pain, or irregular heartbeats. Being overweight or obese raises your risk of developing issues that can lead to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar. 

When you have extra weight, your heart needs to work harder to pump blood throughout your body. Losing weight can help reduce these risks.

• Stroke

A stroke is also a risk associated with obesity. It happens when a blood vessel in your brain or neck gets blocked or bursts, which cuts your blood from reaching part of your brain. This can damage brain tissue and make speaking or moving your body difficult.

Being overweight or obese can raise your blood pressure, which is the leading cause of strokes. Losing weight can help lower your blood pressure and reduce other stroke risks.

• Liver Disease

Fatty liver diseases occur when fat accumulates in your liver. This potentially causes severe liver damage, cirrhosis, or even liver failure. These conditions include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

NAFLD and NASH are most commonly seen in individuals who are overweight or obese.

• High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is also a risk associated with obesity. This happens when your blood flows through your blood vessels with more force than usual. 

Having a larger body mass can raise your blood pressure because your heart has to work harder to pump blood to all your cells. Extra fat can also harm your kidneys, which help control blood pressure.

Just like being overweight, being underweight is also not healthy. Here are some health risks associated with being underweight:

• Anaemia

If you are underweight, you will likely experience low blood counts. This is known as anaemia, which can lead to dizziness, headaches, and fatigue.

• Osteoporosis

Being underweight raises a woman's risk of osteoporosis. It is a condition where the bones become brittle and are more likely to break.

• Frequent Illnesses

Your body needs various nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to remain healthy and function properly. 

You may also miss out on essential nutrients if you do not get enough energy from your diet to maintain a healthy body weight. As a result, you could get sick more often and for longer periods.

• Irregular Menstruation

If you are underweight, you may experience irregular periods. Not only that, your menstruation may stop altogether. Irregular or absent menstruation can lead to infertility.

• Skin, Hair, and Teeth Issues

Your teeth and skin may also be affected if you do not get enough nutrients in your daily diet. You may show physical symptoms like hair loss, dry skin, thinning skin, or poor dental health.

While it is a common tool to get the ideal weight range, the BMI calculator tool also comes with some limitations. They revolve around the following factors:

• Age

Even if your body weight stays the same, ageing leads to significant changes in body composition. You will experience a notable decrease in muscle mass and an increase in visceral fat. This type of fat is more dangerous, but BMI does not account for it in its calculation.

• Gender

Gaining visceral or subcutaneous fat increases body mass, but the way fat accumulates can differ between men and women. As women age, they often see more fat accumulating around the abdomen. BMI does not accurately measure these differences in body fat between men and women.

• Muscle Mass

Since BMI only considers your height and weight, it is not enough to accurately assess your health. It does not consider how much of your weight is muscle mass. This means that if you have more muscles, the BMI can be higher even if you are healthy and fit.

• Bone Density

Some individuals have denser bones and larger frames compared to others. If you have a larger frame, your BMI may be higher, even if you are healthy and not overweight.

The BMI formula includes dividing the total weight in kilograms (kg) by your height in metres (m) squared. Here is the formula:

BMI = weight (kg) / height (m)2

Let us consider an example for better understanding. Suppose your weight is 70kg and your height is 1.75m. In this case, your BMI will be 22.9.

BMI prime refers to your measured BMI ratio as compared to the upper limit of BMI. It considers values that are considered ‘normal’ by institutions like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

This upper limit of BMI, also called BMI upper, is usually 25 kg/m2. 

Here is the formula for BMI Prime: 

• BMI Prime = BMI / 25