BMI Calculator – Men, Women, Teens, Kids

• What is The BMI?
• How Is The BMI Calculated?
• Body Mass Index Categories
• What is the Body Mass Index Used for?
• Used as an Indicator for Bariatric Surgery
• Higher the BMI, Higher the risk of Heart Attack.
• BMI Statistics Region wise
• BMI Statistics Gender wise
• BMI Statistics for Female
• Mean BMI value for Female
• BMI Statistics for Male
• Body Mass Index for Children
• Body Mass Index for Teens
• Importance of Healthy BMI
• Tips to Keep Healthy BMI

WHAT IS THE BMI?

It does not matter if you want to lose weight, do something for your health or if you are gaining muscle mass, the Body Mass Index (BMI in its abbreviation) is, in most cases, the first value that is calculated. BMI is an indicative and measurement value that allows an assessment of body weight. It is obtained from the relationship between body weight and height. The evaluation distinguishes between the following categories: low weight, normal weight, overweight and obesity.

HOW IS THE BMI CALCULATED?

This BMI of a person can be obtained by dividing the weight (in kilograms) by the square of his height.

Its formula consists of: BMI = Weight ÷ (Height x Height)

For Example: A person has a weight of 60 kg and is 1.69 m tall.

Calculation: (60 kg) / (1.69 m) ² = 21

Therefore, the person has a BMI of 21.

Body Mass Index Categories

On the basis of the value obtained after the calculation, we can categorize the body mass index in the following categories:

• If BMI value comes under 19, than the person is having Low Weight.
• BMI value between 19 to 25 indicates that person is having a Normal Weight.
• BMI value between 25 to 30 indicates that person is Overweight.
• The value of BMI greater than 30 indicates that person is suffering from Obesity.

You can check the body mass index categories in the below mentioned table:

 Body Mass Index Categories

Category	BMI (kg / m²)	Body weight
Severe thinness	<16.0	Underweight
Moderate thinness	16.0 – 17.0	Underweight
Slight thinness	17.0 – 18.5	Underweight
Normal weight	18.5 – 24.9	Normal weight
Pre-obese	25.0 – 29.9	Overweight
Type I obesity	30.0 – 34.9	Obesity
Type II Obesity	35.0 – 39.9	Obesity
Type III Obesity	≥ 40	Obesity

The people who fall under the category of overweight don’t have the risk of having health disorders but they need to maintain their diet plans. The persons having this value of their body mass index have a risk of suffering from various health disorders which can include high blood pressure, diabetes and increased cholesterol levels in the blood.

What is the Body Mass Index Used for?

The body Mass Index was invented by Belgian scientist Adolphe Quetelet, which is one of the best methods currently implemented in the world to check obesity. Depending on the number, you can know if the person is at an ideal weight, below or above, which means a person is suffering from obesity. Specifically, values ​​below 18.5 denote extreme thinness, from 18.5 to 24.9 healthy weight, between 25 and 29.9, overweight and more than 30, obesity.

Though its basic purpose is to detect obesity in the person. But it can be used to detect various health-related deficiencies on the basis of which you might require some surgery or consult a doctor. Here are some of the things for which BMI can be used:

Used as an Indicator for Bariatric Surgery

Bariatric Surgery is a surgical procedure of losing weight. Along with BMI doctors also analyze the patient’s previous medical history so that they can confirm if they can have the surgery done or not. The other factors which are checked by the doctor are tolerance to anaesthesia, result of previous gastroscopy etc.

When undergoing surgery with the goal of losing weight, surgeons take into account several indicators to decide if the patient really needs it or not. In addition to studying the person’s medical history, doctors assess data such as their tolerance to anesthesia, the results of a previous gastroscopy or if they have previously tried to lose weight in another way. The person with a BMI greater than 35 or 40 having diabetes and hypertension are not eligible for the surgery to be conducted on them. Bariatric Surgery reduces the size of gastric cavity and also help to reduce the ability of the intestine to absorb nutrients which in turn help in reducing BMI in the person.

Higher the BMI, Higher the risk of Heart Attack.

The higher BMI means a person has a large accumulation of fat in his body. BMI values have direct influence on blood glucose level and also depicts the presence of huge amount of cholesterol in the patient’s body. So all these factors combined leads to risk of stroke or a heart attack which can also lead to the death of a person.

Higher BMI Worst Body Balance and Posture

Higher BMI is also used to depict that your body weight, body balance and body postures are not correct.

Higher BMI is the cause for Sleep Apnoea

A sleep disorder,  in which a person feels tired after a full night’s sleep is directly related to BMI. The symptoms of this disorder are start and stop breathing along with loud snoring and tiredness after sleep. Therefore higher BMI can lead to Sleep Apnoea.

BMI Statistics Region wise

According to a report by World Health Organization (WHO) almost 2.8 million people in the world die of obesity and being overweight. The person being overweight leads to adverse metabolic effects on cholesterol, blood pressure and insulin. With the increase in BMI, the risk of coronary heart disease stroke and the problem of type 2 diabetes increase significantly. There is also a risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, gallbladder cancer and colon cancer. The average BMI for the adult people should be in the range of 21 to 23 kg/m2

According to a survey 35% of adults who were aged more than 20 had the BMI index more than 25 kg/m2 which included 34%of the world’s men population and 35% of the female population. So it comes out that over more than billion adults worldwide were obese on the basis of Body Mass index. If we take out important regions of the world than the American region have the highest ratio of overweight people means body mass index greater than 25 with total percentage coming out to be 62% for overweight people and 26% for obese adults including both men and women. The European region, The Eastern Mediterranean and the American region have over 50% of the female population as overweight. For all these three regions more than half of the women come under obese category. The region of Africa, South East Asia had more women obese than their male counterparts.

BMI Statistics Country Wise Table

BMI is directly related to income levels of the people in the various countries. The higher BMI was found in the countries with higher and upper middle class income as compared to low income countries. Women had more BMI index than men in low income counties and similar to men in high income countries.. The lower income counries had only 7% people obese as compared to high income countries which had around 24% people overweight and obese according to the BMI index.

The country which had most obese people according to data is a territory of America named American samoa where 74.6% of people were found obese based on BMI index. Other South Pacific nations have also the higher BMI which includes Nauru, Tonga, Kiribati and Palau. Only other country to feature in top 10 on the basis of BMI which is not in South Pacific region is Kuwait.If we consider most poulous countries of the world the Egypt is on the top of the list with United states of America with 33% people obese is at 18th number and the united Kingdom host for 26.9% people who are obese

We can see the table which will tell us the BMI of the people of various countries.

Country	Overall rank	Overall mean BMI (kg/m2)	Female rank	Female mean BMI (kg/m2)	Male rank	Male mean BMI (kg/m2)
Cook Islands	1	32.5	3	32.8	1	32.1
Tonga	2	31.9	1	33.5	2	30.4
Samoa	3	31.7	1	33.5	3	29.9
Kuwait	4	30	6	30.8	4	29.5
Saint Kitts and Nevis	5	29.7	5	30.9	12	28.4
Saint Lucia	6	29.6	9	30.2	7	28.9
Kiribati	6	29.6	8	30.5	9	28.7
Palau	8	29.4	19	29.5	5	29.4
Federated States of Micronesia	8	29.4	4	31	22	27.8
Tuvalu	10	29.3	14	29.9	9	28.7
Qatar	11	29.2	11	30.1	6	29
Marshall Islands	11	29.2	12	30	12	28.4
Egypt	11	29.2	7	30.7	26	27.6
United Arab Emirates	14	29	15	29.7	11	28.6
Jordan	15	28.9	15	29.7	15	28.2
Belize	15	28.9	9	30.2	26	27.6
United States of America	17	28.8	27	28.8	8	28.8
Bahamas	17	28.8	17	29.6	16	28
Trinidad and Tobago	19	28.7	21	29.4	20	27.9
Barbados	19	28.7	12	30	38	27.4
Saudi Arabia	21	28.5	29	28.7	14	28.3
Libya	22	28.4	17	29.6	46	27.2
Bahrain	23	28.2	32	28.6	16	28
Mexico	24	28.1	29	28.7	33	27.5
Antigua and Barbuda	24	28.1	19	29.5	44	27.3
Syria	24	28.1	24	29	46	27.2
Iraq	27	28	27	28.8	46	27.2
New Zealand	28	27.9	41	27.8	16	28
Lebanon	29	27.8	45	27.6	16	28
Uruguay	29	27.8	38	28	26	27.6
Turkey	29	27.8	33	28.5	50	27.1
Argentina	32	27.7	47	27.5	22	27.8
Ireland	33	27.5	57	27.1	20	27.9
Andorra	33	27.5	57	27.1	22	27.8
Kazakhstan	35	27.4	47	27.5	38	27.4
El Salvador	35	27.4	38	28	56	26.8
Azerbaijan	35	27.4	36	28.1	67	26.6
Suriname	35	27.4	35	28.2	69	26.5
Jamaica	35	27.4	22	29.2	105	25.5
United Kingdom	40	27.3	57	27.1	33	27.5
Greece	40	27.3	55	27.2	38	27.4
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	40	27.3	36	28.1	69	26.5
South Africa	40	27.3	23	29.1	110	25.4
Australia	44	27.2	69	26.8	26	27.6
Canada	44	27.2	69	26.8	26	27.6
Malta	44	27.2	69	26.8	33	27.5
Venezuela	44	27.2	57	27.1	38	27.4
Georgia	44	27.2	52	27.3	46	27.2
Fiji	44	27.2	34	28.4	85	26.1
Panama	50	27.1	43	27.7	76	26.4
Cyprus	51	27	87	26.3	26	27.6
Ecuador	51	27	43	27.7	76	26.4
Grenada	51	27	29	28.7	113	25.2
Dominica	51	27	24	29	116	25.1
Czech Republic	55	26.9	94	26	22	27.8
Slovenia	55	26.9	87	26.3	33	27.5
Oman	55	26.9	57	27.1	56	26.8
Costa Rica	55	26.9	57	27.1	60	26.7
Nicaragua	55	26.9	41	27.8	88	26
Chile	60	26.8	67	26.9	60	26.7
Tunisia	60	26.8	47	27.5	88	26
Seychelles	60	26.8	38	28	100	25.6
Spain	63	26.7	94	26	38	27.4
Moldova	63	26.7	57	27.1	82	26.3
Dominican Republic	63	26.7	50	27.4	88	26
Armenia	63	26.7	50	27.4	92	25.9
Lithuania	67	26.6	94	26	44	27.3
Belarus	67	26.6	90	26.2	50	27.1
Swaziland	69	26.5	26	28.9	130	24.1
Luxembourg	69	26.5	112	25.5	26	27.6
Slovakia	69	26.5	102	25.7	38	27.4
Russia	69	26.5	69	26.8	85	26.1
Guatemala	69	26.5	57	27.1	96	25.8
Poland	74	26.4	102	25.7	52	27
Turkmenistan	74	26.4	82	26.4	76	26.4
Honduras	74	26.4	52	27.3	105	25.5
Guyana	77	26.3	45	27.6	117	25
Hungary	77	26.3	119	25.2	33	27.5
Germany	77	26.3	106	25.6	52	27
Israel	77	26.3	90	26.2	82	26.3
Peru	77	26.3	67	26.9	98	25.7
Iran	82	26.2	55	27.2	112	25.3
Portugal	82	26.2	102	25.7	60	26.7
Brunei	82	26.2	78	26.6	96	25.8
Cuba	82	26.2	75	26.7	100	25.6
Kyrgyzstan	82	26.2	69	26.8	100	25.6
Vanuatu	82	26.2	69	26.8	100	25.6
Algeria	82	26.2	66	27	105	25.5
Albania	89	26.1	106	25.6	67	26.6
Bosnia and Herzegovina	89	26.1	102	25.7	69	26.5
Uzbekistan	89	26.1	87	26.3	92	25.9
Mongolia	92	26	82	26.4	105	25.5
Norway	92	26	119	25.2	55	26.9
Italy	92	26	119	25.2	56	26.8
Bulgaria	92	26	115	25.3	60	26.7
Montenegro	92	26	112	25.5	69	26.5
Ukraine	92	26	101	25.8	76	26.4
Bolivia	98	25.9	52	27.3	122	24.6
Colombia	98	25.9	80	26.5	110	25.4
Brazil	98	25.9	94	26	92	25.9
Iceland	98	25.9	123	25.1	60	26.7
Finland	98	25.9	115	25.3	69	26.5
Yemen	103	25.8	80	26.5	113	25.2
Paraguay	103	25.8	94	26	100	25.6
Latvia	103	25.8	123	25.1	56	26.8
Sweden	103	25.8	131	24.9	60	26.7
Serbia	103	25.8	119	25.2	76	26.4
Macedonia	103	25.8	115	25.3	76	26.4
Mauritius	109	25.6	90	26.2	117	25
Equatorial Guinea	109	25.6	93	26.1	117	25
Morocco	109	25.6	99	25.9	113	25.2
Gabon	112	25.5	82	26.4	122	24.6
Solomon Islands	112	25.5	82	26.4	124	24.5
Belgium	112	25.5	134	24.7	84	26.2
Estonia	112	25.5	142	24.3	52	27
Croatia	112	25.5	135	24.6	69	26.5
Tajikistan	117	25.4	115	25.3	105	25.5
Netherlands	117	25.4	129	25	92	25.9
Austria	117	25.4	140	24.4	69	26.5
Papua New Guinea	120	25.3	106	25.6	117	25
Malaysia	120	25.3	106	25.6	117	25
Romania	120	25.3	131	24.9	98	25.7
Denmark	120	25.3	139	24.5	88	26
France	120	25.3	135	24.6	85	26.1
Switzerland	120	25.3	155	23.8	60	26.7
South Sudan	126	25.2	75	26.7	134	23.7
Sudan	126	25.2	75	26.7	134	23.7
Maldives	128	25.1	99	25.9	127	24.2
Lesotho	129	24.9	57	27.1	151	22.7
Mauritania	130	24.8	82	26.4	142	23.2
Sao Tome and Principe	130	24.8	106	25.6	131	23.9
Botswana	132	24.7	78	26.6	147	22.9
Cabo Verde	132	24.7	114	25.4	131	23.9
Cameroon	134	24.4	123	25.1	133	23.8
Namibia	135	24.3	106	25.6	147	22.9
Ghana	136	24.2	123	25.1	139	23.4
Comoros	137	24.1	123	25.1	145	23
Thailand	137	24.1	135	24.6	136	23.6
Angola	137	24.1	135	24.6	138	23.5
Haiti	137	24.1	148	24	127	24.2
Gambia	141	24	123	25.1	145	23
Liberia	141	24	131	24.9	142	23.2
China	143	23.9	157	23.6	127	24.2
South Korea	143	23.9	160	23.4	125	24.3
Pakistan	145	23.8	140	24.4	141	23.3
Bhutan	145	23.8	144	24.2	139	23.4
Singapore	147	23.7	165	23.2	125	24.3
Côte d’Ivoire	148	23.6	145	24.1	142	23.2
Zimbabwe	149	23.4	129	25	172	21.8
Benin	149	23.4	142	24.3	153	22.6
Nigeria	149	23.4	148	24	150	22.8
Republic of the Congo	152	23.3	145	24.1	155	22.5
Djibouti	152	23.3	153	23.9	151	22.7
Togo	154	23.2	148	24	157	22.4
Philippines	154	23.2	160	23.4	147	22.9
Guinea-Bissau	156	23.1	153	23.9	162	22.2
Tanzania	156	23.1	148	24	162	22.2
Senegal	158	23	145	24.1	172	21.8
Kenya	158	23	148	24	169	21.9
Sri Lanka	158	23	159	23.5	155	22.5
Indonesia	161	22.9	160	23.4	157	22.4
Sierra Leone	162	22.8	157	23.6	168	22
Malawi	162	22.8	163	23.3	161	22.3
Mali	162	22.8	168	23	153	22.6
Guinea	165	22.7	163	23.3	164	22.1
Zambia	166	22.6	155	23.8	178	21.5
Myanmar	166	22.6	165	23.2	164	22.1
Laos	166	22.6	171	22.7	157	22.4
Japan	166	22.6	183	21.7	136	23.6
Central African Republic	170	22.4	165	23.2	176	21.6
Mozambique	171	22.3	168	23	176	21.6
Chad	171	22.3	173	22.5	164	22.1
Democratic Republic of the Congo	173	22.2	173	22.5	172	21.8
Nepal	173	22.2	178	22	157	22.4
Burkina Faso	175	22.1	178	22	164	22.1
Uganda	176	22	168	23	185	21
Rwanda	176	22	171	22.7	182	21.3
Somalia	178	21.9	173	22.5	184	21.2
India	178	21.9	177	22.1	172	21.8
Cambodia	178	21.9	178	22	169	21.9
North Korea	181	21.8	181	21.8	169	21.9
Niger	182	21.7	176	22.2	182	21.3
Vietnam	183	21.6	184	21.6	178	21.5
Afghanistan	183	21.6	181	21.8	178	21.5
Timor-Leste	185	21.2	188	21	178	21.5
Madagascar	186	21.1	186	21.2	186	20.9
Bangladesh	187	21	186	21.2	187	20.7
Burundi	188	20.9	185	21.3	188	20.4
Ethiopia	189	20.6	188	21	189	20.2
Eritrea	190	20.5	188	21	190	20.1

BMI Statistics Gender wise

Men and women are differently made by God. So the BMI values also vary between men and women. Men and women are not similar physically. Therefore it is important to have different BMI for men and women. Moreover women have generally higher level of healthy body fat whereas men have comparatively greater muscular mass than women.

BMI Statistics for Female

Though there is only one criteria for BMI calculation which is explained above in the article, but as the woman grows, their body fat increases with their age. So that criteria can fail to calculate BMI for a female. BMI of a woman increases till the age of 60 but after the age of 60 BMI of women tends to fall. BMI calculator fails to calculate BMI according to full body composition. Generally the woman will accumulate more fat on their hips and breasts whereas men don’t have that fat in their body. Therefore when we calculate BMI of women, these factors are not considered therefore they have higher BMI than men.

So we will show you the actual BMI for women according to their age:

Mean BMI value for Female

Age (Years)	Average BMI
20 -29	24.4
30-39	26.4
40-49	27.8
50-59	28.4
60-69	27.5

So according to the table above we can see that women generally have BMI more than 25 which according to general BMI index is category of an overweight person. So if the women have a BMI between 25 and 29, it can be considered as an ideal weight for them.

 BMI Statistics for Male

Men generally tend to grow their muscular mass as their age increases. So the BMI of men will vary according to age. Adult men below the age of 20 will have lower BMI index compared to men more than the age of 20. If we compare BMI of men and women from the ages of 20-29 men have higher BMI compared to females, whereas BMI of men starts decreasing between the age of 30-50 but on the other hand women tend to gain more fat in these age and hence their BMI is more than men.

Here is the table depicting average BMI of the men which is based on their age.

Mean BMI for Men

Age (Years)	Average BMI
20 -29	24.5
30-39	25.9
40-49	26.8
50-59	27.2
60-69	27.0

Therefore by going through the above table we can say that the average BMI of men can vary between 25 and 27 and can be considered as an ideal BMI for a healthy men.

Body Mass Index for Children

Body Mass Index for Children is calculated differently than adults. This is because children from the age of 2-20 grows continuously and their height and weight increases with the time. Moreover, girls and boys grow differently so the Body Mass Index for the girls and boys also differ accordingly. Therefore BMI of children is calculated in the form of percentile rather than a number.

Here is the BMI table for the children between 2-12

Percentile	Weight Status
Less than 5 Percentile	Underweight
5 Percentile to Below 85th percentile	Normal or Healthy weight
85th to less than 95th percentile	Overweight
Above the 95th percentile	Obese

Body Mass Index for Teens

Teens go through massive body changes as they start to hit puberty. Girls start gaining their hips and breast fat whereas boys tend to gain skeletal muscle mass and other bodily changes. The BMI of the teens is also calculated in percentile as the body of teens continuously changes during these years and is the important passage of their life.

So here is the table for BMI of teens generally between the age of 13 and 19:

Percentile	Weight Status
Less than 3 Percentile	Underweight
3 Percentile to Below 85th percentile	Normal or Healthy weight
85th to less than 97th percentile	Overweight
Above the 97th percentile to 99.9 percentile	Obese
Above the 99.9th percentile	Severely Obese

Importance of Healthy BMI

It’s very important to maintain a healthy BMI as it will give you the ideal weight. Here are the benefits of maintaining the healthy BMI:

• Healthier Heart: The better your BMI, better is your heart’s health. The heart will work more efficiently as blood flow will increase to arteries of heart. Therefore you can avoid chronic heart disease like strokes and heart attacks.
• Lower Risk of Diabetes: You will not suffer from type 2 diabetes in your life, but if you are overweight according to your BMI you will have to work on losing weight to control the diabetes.
• Reduces the Risk of Cancer: Healthy BMI helps to avoid various types of cancer in the people like breast cancer in females, prostate in males etc.
• Increased Fertility in Women: Women with the better BMI have lesser problems in pregnancy and can deliver easily.
• Prevents Arthritis: Whenever body exerts the extra pressure due to overload of work physical or mental, you can suffer joint pains. But having an ideal body weight will reduce risk of these pains as lesser the weight of the body, lesser the pressure on joints.
• Good Circulation of Blood: Maintain proper body weight will enhance the flow of blood in the various organs of the body, hence stimulating the smooth functioning of all the vital body organs.

Dangers of Unhealthy BMI

BMI is one of the main factors which determines the amount of extra fat a person has accumulated according to his height and weight. Maintaining unhealthy BMI will lead to various troubles to your body. Some of the unwanted diseases which you can suffer due to being overweight and obese are:

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Stroke or heart Attacks
• Sleep Apnea
• Hypertension
• Disease of gallbladder
• Depression and other mental health disorders
• Osteoarthritis
• Incapable Immune System
• Risk of Cancers
• Osteoporosis
• Digestive Diseases
• Respiratory Diseases

Some of the diseases mentioned above occur due to higher value of BMI whereas some of the disease mention occurs due to lower BMI value of the body.

Tips to Keep Healthy BMI

In order to stay healthy steps must be taken by the people to maintain the normal BMI. If you are struggling to lose weight, the following steps will be helpful to you in shedding some calories to maintain a better Body Mass Index.

Eat in Portions

The food you take during the day should be taken in smaller portions. Rather than taking 3 large meals, you should have 5 meals but in lesser proportion

Exercise

To keep the weight off, exercise is a must as it helps to burn calories. Daily 30 minutes of stern exercise is enough to maintain your body weight.

Change Your Thought Process

Change your thinking process and avoid the negative thoughts that comes to your mind.

Energy Balance

You need to balance your energy. Amount of energy you take by eating foods and drinks should be utilized by your body for your activities like breathing, digestion and also in some physical activities to maintain energy level.

Reduce Screen Time

If you are too addicted to your electronic gadgets such as phones, laptops etc than you will gain the weight. So divide the time efficiently to use these devices so that it doesn’t affect your body.

Stay Hydrated

Drink lots of water as it will prevent you from overeating. Also water helps to transport essential nutrients to your body parts which will boost your energy level.

Eat Fiber Rich Foods

High Fiber foods helps to lower the level of cholesterol in the body along with controlling glucose level which will ultimately help in maintaining your ideal body weight according to Body Mass Index.

Don’t Skip Breakfast

Breakfast is an important meal of the day so try to have it as you will feel hungry after sometime if you don’t have your breakfast and you will go for unhealthy food. Not only breakfast every meal in the day should be taken timely.

Get Enough Sleep

If you are not taking enough sleep you will suffer from fatigue and ultimately gain weight which will not be good for your BMI.

So these are some tips which if you implement in your life can make your weight ideal along with a fit body by maintaining the required value of  BMI.

When to see a doctor?

Healthy BMI is an important number for the well being of a person. If your BMI index is lower or higher and you are tired after continuous effort to gain or lose weight accordingly you need to see a doctor immediately as you may be at the risk of various diseases. So it’s better to avoid the risk of being suffering from chronic diseases and take an immediate medical help.