If you’re looking to asses your current BMI, our BMI is here to help! From wanting to lose weight to having the desire to live a healthier lifestyle, calculating and recording your BMI at intervals along your health journey can allow you to view how much healthier you’re becoming.
What is Body Mass Index (BMI)?
BMI stands for Body Mass Index and gives you a score that shows the measurement of body fat against your height and weight. It can be used for both men and women, and a BMI calculator will be individual to yourself as you can enter your own metrics.
BMI is a measurement that is commonly used by the Government and health professionals, and serves as a guide on how healthy your body is. Despite not being entirely accurate, a BMI calculator is a convenient and straightforward way to see how much of a person’s body is taken up by fat.
BMI categories
The scores that can be displayed through the BMI calculator are divided into the following categories:
- < 18.5 : Underweight
- 18.5-24.9 : Normal weight
- 24.9 – 29.9 : Overweight
- 30+ : Obese
These categories will give you an indication of the health of your body, but it’s important to remember that the BMI category that you fall into may not be completely accurate – especially if you have a high muscle mass, are under the age of 16 and/or are pregnant.
If you notice that your your BMI is below 18.5, this may impose certain health risks and you should take the appropriate steps to improve your score.
If your BMI is calculated as between 18.5 and 24.9, this is considered as normal and healthy.
If the BMI calculator reveals that your score is over 30, you are considered as obese and are more prone to health issues such as heart disease.
Calculating your BMI
Body Mass Index calculators work by dividing your weight by your height squared. This is a complicated sum to do off the top of your head, which is why our BMI calculator is here to make it much easier!
Men and women
Our BMI calculator for men and women will take your age into consideration, as well as your height. This will allow the calculator to have a better understanding about your body proportions to give a more relevant score.
BMI calculator for children
A BMI calculator for kids works differently to an adult BMI calculator because it takes age and gender into consideration when the score is given. These results are then measured against ‘centiles’ – results that have been shown from previous children – to give an accurate score.
As you can see, a BMI calculator doesn’t have to be complicated and entering your details will give you a fast indication on how healthy you are.