Your body mass index, or BMI, is a screening tool used to measure your risk for developing conditions associated with excess weight. As your BMI increases, so does your risk for developing obesity-related diseases. BMI is calculated by using your height and your weight and can be obtained using a calculator and a specific formula or automatically with an online calculator. Once calculated, your BMI is classified into one of the four weight categories.
Step 1
Go online. Select the online BMI calculator from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Step 2
Enter your height and weight into the appropriate boxes. Click the "Compute BMI" button.
Step 3
Classify your BMI. Indicate if you are underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese by using the category chart on the right side of the page.
Tips and Warnings
- Your BMI is only one of several factors used to predict your risk for developing obesity-related diseases and conditions. If your BMI is in the overweight or obese categories, losing weight is recommended.
- Although BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people, it does have some limitations. Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI due to increased muscle mass instead of increased fat. BMI is not a direct measure of body fatness, and for that reason, more direct measures of body fat, including taking skinfold measurements or using special scales, may be appropriate for helping you better determine your health risks related to your weight.
Things You'll Need
- Computer
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