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The body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet index, is a statistical measurement which compares a person’s weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it may be a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problems within a population, usually whether individuals are underweight, overweight or obese. Body mass index is defined as the individual’s body weight divided by the square of his or her height.
The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. BMI can also be determined using a BMI chart, which displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colours for different BMI categories.
BMI calculation uses a mathematical formula that takes into account both a person’s height and weight. Everyone is different, it is many experts opinion in the health industry that the BMI calculator formula used to calculated your correct weight for height is a rough guidline. There are many factors involved and BMI fails to discriminate between fat, muscle and age meaning the result is always slightly inaccurate.
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| Range | Interpretation | Risk | |
| Women | Men | ||
| < 19.1 | < 20.7 | Underweight | The lower the BMI, the greater the risk |
| 19.1 – 25.8 | 20.7 – 26.4 | Ideal weight | Normal, very low risk |
| 25.8 – 27.3 | 26.4 – 27.8 | Marginally overweight | Some risk |
| 27.3 – 32.2 | 27.8 – 31.1 | Overweight | Moderate risk |
| 32.3 – 44.8 | 31.1 – 45.4 | Very overweight or obese | High risk |
| > 44.8 | >45.4 | Morbid obesity | Very high risk |
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