BMI Charts

March 22, 2019

Body mass index is abbreviated as BMI. It is a value used to determine if a person is safe in terms of carrying diseases associated with increased weight gain. The weight of a person corresponding to the height has to stay within certain limits. Otherwise, an obese person with a high body mass index is prone to developing diabetes, hypertension, and other joint diseases.

How BMI is calculated?

Body mass index is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in meters. The resulting figure is your body mass index. This index is used to get an idea of whether a person has a normal weight, is overweight, or is obese. The higher his BMI, the more he is obese and at a higher risk of developing cardiac diseases.

Normal BMI ranges

Certain ranges of body mass index are used as reference ranges.
If the BMI of a person is between 15 and 18, irrespective of age and gender, that person is considered underweight. He needs to gain some weight to come under the normal range of body mass index.
A BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered normal. It is the ideal range of body mass index, and every individual must try to stay in this range no matter what their age, gender, or height is. People with this BMI are almost risk-free from systemic diseases.
If the BMI is between 25 and 29.9, such a person is considered overweight. These people are at risk of developing cardiac diseases and need to reduce their weight to fall within a normal range of BMI.
A BMI of 30 to 35 is regarded as obesity grade I. Such people are officially obese, and the risk for diseases has increased manifold compared to people with a normal BMI.
If a person measures his BMI and it turns out to be between 35 and 40, this is grade II obesity, termed severely obese.
Class III obesity is called very severely obese, and this is labeled when a person has a BMI between 41 and 45.
Morbidly obese patients have a BMI between 45 and 50. This is class IV obesity.
Super obese are people with a BMI above 50 and below 60. This is class V obesity and is almost always associated with systemic illnesses and a very poor quality of life.
Class VI obesity also exists, and a person with this type of obesity is called hyper-obese if his BMI is above 60.

How to calculate BMI using a chart

There are several charts available for the calculation of BMI. As mentioned earlier, BMI is calculated based on height and weight. So, one must know their height and weight measured, which makes it easier to know the BMI.

In this chart, a normal BMI is given against a certain height and weight. You only need to match the height and weight and find out where these two parameters meet. This will be your body mass index, or BMI.