Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is a quick way to estimate body fat based on your height and weight.
This calculation places you into categories like underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese, offering a general idea of your potential health risks.
While BMI serves as a useful screening tool, it’s crucial to remember that it doesn’t tell the whole story about your health.
One major limitation is that BMI doesn’t distinguish between muscle and fat. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if you have a lot of muscle, like athletes or bodybuilders, your BMI might classify you as overweight or obese even though your body fat percentage is low, and your overall health is excellent.
BMI also fails to account for factors like fat distribution, fitness level, or metabolic health. For example, two people might have the same BMI, but one could carry more fat around their abdomen – a known risk factor for health issues—while the other has a healthier fat distribution.
Our BMI calculator is designed for adults and isn’t suitable for children and teens. Because their bodies are still growing and changing, a child or teen’s BMI needs to be interpreted using age- and gender-specific growth charts.
These charts factor in the natural variations in body fat as children grow and go through puberty, offering a more accurate assessment of their health.
To calculate BMI, you divide your weight by your height squared:
