#Bmi calculator chart for women free#

If your calculator does not have a square function, simply divide weight by height twice.įor example, a person who weighs 200 lbs. Here's a formula to calculate it at home:

When calculating your BMI using pounds and inches, you will need to multiply your weight by 703, a conversion factor. What, exactly, is BMI?īMI is a calculation-it’s your weight in pounds (or kilograms) divided by the square of your height in inches (or meters). Mehal three questions to better understand the AMA’s new policy on BMI.

#Bmi calculator chart for women free#

Doctors and patients are still free to decide if or how they want to use this tool. The AMA’s policy is not a mandate but a suggestion-and BMI is not likely to disappear, Dr. “All these things start to create a complete picture of a person’s overall health,” Dr. “BMI is just one data point, along with many others, that needs to be considered to determine a person’s health.” A comprehensive health assessment would also include blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose measurements, among other data. “The problem is not BMI itself, but the tendency to use it as a single focus,” says Wajahat Mehal, MD, director of the Yale Metabolic Health & Weight Loss Program. One issue is that BMI was developed based on the bodies of non-Hispanic white men it may not provide consistently accurate results for people who fall into other categories of sex, ethnicity, and race. In June, the American Medical Association (AMA) pointed out how BMI falls short and adopted a new policy encouraging doctors to avoid relying on BMI alone to diagnose obesity. A chart will show whether that number classifies you as being underweight, at a healthy weight, or having overweight or obesity. Anyone can go online and find a free BMI calculator, plug in their weight and height, and get back a number.

The helpful thing about Body Mass Index (BMI) is that it is a quick, accessible, and low-cost measure, based on your weight and height, used to determine if you are in a healthy-or unhealthy-weight range.