The term BMI is an abbreviation for Body Mass Index and as the name suggests, it is the body mass index. It's a relatively simple tool that uses weight, height, age and gender to determine can give an indication of whether you are underweight, healthy weight, overweight or obese. Simply enter each piece of information into the calculator below and you'll know the result in seconds.
How is BMI calculated?
BMI in its basic form can simply be the ratio of weight in kilograms to height in metres, but of course this format only gives very indicative results. Therefore, variables such as age and gender are also taken into account by default, as they also play a role in the calculation of BMI.
Possible results on BMI
Within the framework, you always get a number that needs to be compared with the reference values given in the tables. Our calculator will do this step for you, of course, but if you were to calculate your BMI yourself, it's good to know that:
- values of 16.5 and below indicate severe malnutrition, which of course needs to be addressed under the supervision of experts. For example, it may be related to a deficiency of certain nutrients.
- values between 16.5 and 18.5 indicate malnutrition.
- Values between 18.5 and 25 indicate an ideal weight and it is, of course, ideal to stay within this range.
- Values between 25 and 30 indicate overweight.
- Values above 30 already indicate obesity, and from 35 upwards we speak of second-degree obesity and from 40 upwards we even speak of the so-called 'obesity of the second degree'. Morbid obesity.
What are the optimal BMI values?
To be within the normal weight range, your BMI should be between 18.5 and 25. The ideal weight is particularly important because people with obesity have significantly higherrisk of civilisation diseases such as diabetes, various cardiovascular problems and others.
BMI deficiencies
Since the BMI mostly works only with weight, it is not able to distinguish between thosem whether you have an above-average amount of muscle or an above-average amount of fat. Therefore, if you fill out the calculator as a hundred-pound bodybuilder, it may logically return the result that you are overweight or obese, despite your chiseled physique. Muscular athletes, meanwhile, can logically be healthy even with higher BMI values because, as we know, muscle has a significantly higher density compared to fat.