Body Mass Index Calculator

About the Body Mass Index

BMI is a ratio of your weight to your height.

Nearly all adults with a high BMI have extra body fat; those with a low BMI often have too little body fat.

A normal BMI for kids and teens depends on age, and is not the same for adults over age 18.

*Note: Exceptions: For persons 65 years and older the 'normal' range may begin slightly above BMI 18.5 and extend into the 'overweight' range; very muscular athletes and body builders often have high BMIs and are not overfat; children and teens, who need an age appropriate scale; and pregnant and lactating women.

**If your risk is increased, speak with your doctor about having your cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar and blood pressure levels as part of a full cardiovascular and diabetes screen.

Adapted from: World Health Organization. (2000). Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic: Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity. Geneva: WHO, page 9

Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) Calculator

How to Measure Your Waist and Hips

• Waist:
  1. Stand.
  2. Remove your shirt and loosen your belt.
  3. Feel for the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the hip bone.
  4. Maneuver the tape against your skin to the narrowest natural place. This is usually mid-way between the top of your hip bone and the bottom of the rib cage, not your belly button.
  5. Relax your stomach.
  6. Pull the tape so it is horizontal, and flat against your skin. That is your waist measurement.


• Hips:
  1. Stand.
  2. Loosen your belt.
  3. Maneuver the tape against your skin so it is on top of each hip bone.
  4. Make sure it is level.
  5. Pull the tape so it is flat against your skin.  That is your hip measurement.

How to Interpret Your Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR)

• Your WHR measures how your body fat is distributed.
• WHR is a better predictor of calcification of the arteries than your waist measurement or BMI.
• WHR predicts heart disease and hardening of the arteries before they cause symptoms, better than how much you weigh or what your waist is.

• Your waist measurement tells you how much abdominal fat—beneath the surface—you have.
• Too much fat beneath the surface of your waist is an active, hormone-producing organ in the body.
• Your risk of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure are greater as these measurements rise.

Reference:
The Association of Differing Measures of Overweight and Obesity With Prevalent Atherosclerosis. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2007; 50:752-759, WHR: http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/content/abstract/j.jacc.2007.04.066v1