Calculate your Body Mass Index and find your healthy weight range. Free BMI tool.
Body mass index & weight category
BMI (Body Mass Index) is a simple calculation using your height and weight to estimate whether you're in a healthy weight range. While BMI doesn't measure body fat directly, it's a widely used screening tool that gives a useful starting point for health discussions with your doctor.
BMI has limitations — it doesn't account for muscle mass, bone density, or fat distribution. Athletes often have high BMIs due to muscle. Use BMI alongside waist circumference, body fat percentage, and medical advice for a complete health picture.
BMI has been criticized for years for not accounting for muscle mass, bone density, or fat distribution — and the criticism is valid. A bodybuilder and a sedentary person can have the identical BMI while having completely different health profiles.
Despite its flaws, BMI remains useful as a population-level screening tool precisely because it's simple, free, and requires no special equipment. Doctors use it as a starting point for conversation, not a final diagnosis — a high BMI prompts further questions, not an automatic verdict.
For a more complete picture, BMI is best combined with waist circumference (a strong indicator of visceral fat and metabolic risk) and, where available, body fat percentage. Someone with a "normal" BMI but high waist circumference may carry more health risk than the BMI number alone suggests.
Use the calculator above as one data point among several. If your BMI falls outside the "normal" range, that's a signal to discuss your overall health picture with a doctor — not a reason for alarm on its own, especially if you're physically active or carry significant muscle mass.