BMI Calculator

What Does BMI Tell You?

• BMI (Body Mass Index) measures the ratio of your weight to your height.
• It’s often used by doctors, dieticians, fitness trainers, and health insurers to estimate whether your weight is healthy for your height.
• A higher or lower BMI can suggest risk for conditions like heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure, which are common in India.
• Many people use BMI to decide if they need to lose or gain weight for better health.

Why BMI Isn’t Perfect

• BMI was designed in the 19th century to study population health, not individual health.
• It does not differentiate between fat and muscle, so an athlete and an unfit person of the same height and weight may have the same BMI.
• Your body composition (ratio of muscle, fat, and bone) matters more than your weight alone.
• In 2023, the American Medical Association advised that BMI should not be used alone to judge a person’s health.

What You Should Consider Along with BMI

Combine your BMI with other health checks such as:

• Blood sugar levels (for diabetes).
• Cholesterol and blood pressure tests.
• Physical fitness assessments.

Consider your daily habits: diet, physical activity, sleep, and stress levels.

Indian diets and lifestyles vary widely, so individual assessment by a doctor or nutritionist is more accurate than BMI alone.