How to Tell Your BMI

Your body mass index, or BMI, helps evaluate whether you are overweight, underweight, obese, or at a healthy weight. This can determine the type of diet or exercise program appropriate to help you maintain weight, lose weight, or gain a bit. While the most exacting measures of body fat often involve using calipers or underwater weighing, these measurements need to be performed in person by highly skilled personnel. A quick BMI calculation provides highly accurate data for most people, and can easily be performed at home.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Find out your current weight and height. Most adults know their height, but if you need to calculate the BMI of a child, you should measure him or her to ensure that you have the most current data available. Use a scale to calculate your current weight.

• 2

  Visit a website that allows you to calculate your BMI, such as those hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. The CDC's website offers separate calculators for adults and teens or children. (Res. 1, 2.)

• 3

  Enter your data into the calculator. Ensure that you carefully follow the website's directions. Most calculators use JavaScript to perform the calculations, so make sure that you turn your scripting on so that you can view your results.

• 4

  Interpret your data by comparing your statistics to those listed on the BMI calculator's standard weight status categories. Men and women share weight status categories, while children and teens will need to use a separate chart.