To discover what is a normal BMI or establish where you place in the BMI range, you should always use the metric system, that is, your weight in kilograms and your height in meters.īMI is not a definite measurement of anything health-related. In particular, BMI is calculated from these two variables by the following BMI calculation formula:Ī crucial remark about this formula is that the units you use DO matter. But for those who don't, and for the sake of completeness, we will briefly explain what is BMI, how it is measured, and how you can answer the question 'What is my BMI?' even without this BMI calculator for females.īMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a measurement of the relationship between two prominent body metrics: your weight and height. An estimation of body fat using the skinfold method would be a more accurate choice.Most of you reading this already know what BMI is, what it stands for, and you probably have some idea of what a good BMI is. If you are a person with an athletic or muscular build, do not use BMI as the only method to assess your body composition. Because muscle weighs more than fat, those who have well-developed muscles typically appear overweight or obese according to the BMI reference chart. However, since body weight (and not percent body fat) is used in determining BMI, there may be problems when using BMI to assess people who are heavily muscled (such as body builders) or who have an athletic body type. The table above provides established BMI norms based on various categories of health and fitness.įor most people, BMI is a quick and easy way to assess body composition, which is why it is so commonly used. Thus, working toward weight loss if you are overweight or obese can have a profound positive effect on your health.

Obesity-related diseases include heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and stroke. Understanding your body composition is valuable because a person's level of body fat is directly correlated with health outcomes.

This assessment compares your body weight to your height to come up with a value that indicates whether you are underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. A frequently used index to assess a person's body composition (or amount of body fat) is called the body mass index, or BMI.

Body mass index calculator