BMI Chart for Adults
The weights that count as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese at each adult height, in the World Health Organization’s categories. Enter your height and weight to mark yourself on the chart.
ExampleBMI for 70 kg at 175 cm
22.9
Normal weightIn the healthy weight range for your height.
- Healthy weight for your height
- 56.7–76.3 kg
- Normal weight BMI
- 18.5–24.9
General information from published research, not a diagnosis or medical advice. Talk to a doctor before changing medication or treatment. BMI can’t tell muscle from fat, and the adult categories (WHO) don’t apply under 20. Terms
How this works: Method, 2 sources, Checked against 4 worked examples,
How this works
Method
Body mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Turn that around and every category boundary becomes a weight for each height: BMI 25 at 1.75 m is 25 × 1.75 × 1.75 = 76.6 kg. The chart draws those boundaries as curves, which is why the bands widen as height goes up; a tall person’s healthy range covers more kilograms than a short person’s. Full method
Sources
How it’s tested
4 worked examples for this page are checked by automated tests before every release: given the inputs, the tool must show the expected answer.
Limits
General information from published research, not a diagnosis or medical advice. Talk to a doctor before changing medication or treatment. BMI can’t tell muscle from fat, and the adult categories (WHO) don’t apply under 20.
Changes
- Added the BMI chart page: every adult height from 4 ft 10 in to 6 ft 6 in and 148 to 200 cm, with your point on the chart.
- Added a printable report with the weight scale and the categories at your height.
- Added key facts with the WHO categories; the disclaimer became one quiet line under the result.
- Redesigned: a weight ruler with your BMI marked, the healthy weight for your height, sliders for both inputs and a shareable result image.
- Added next steps that follow your result.
Worked example: reading the chart at 166 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Find 166 cm in the table: a healthy weight runs from 51 to 68 kg, overweight from 69 to 82 kg, and obese starts at 83 kg. Someone of that height who weighs 80 kg sits in the overweight band. The calculator gives the exact figure: 1.66 × 1.66 = 2.7556, and 80 ÷ 2.7556 = 29.0.
In feet and pounds, the nearest row is 5 ft 5 in (65 inches), where healthy is 112 to 150 lb. At 176 lb the BMI is 29.3, also overweight, and 26 lb above the top of the healthy range for that height.
BMI chart in centimetres and kilograms
Adult weights in each category, by height. Whole kilograms; each range ends one kilogram below the next.
| Height | Underweight (kg) | Healthy (kg) | Overweight (kg) | Obese (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 148 cm | ≤ 40 | 41–54 | 55–65 | ≥ 66 |
| 150 cm | ≤ 41 | 42–56 | 57–67 | ≥ 68 |
| 152 cm | ≤ 42 | 43–57 | 58–69 | ≥ 70 |
| 154 cm | ≤ 43 | 44–59 | 60–71 | ≥ 72 |
| 156 cm | ≤ 45 | 46–60 | 61–73 | ≥ 74 |
| 158 cm | ≤ 46 | 47–62 | 63–74 | ≥ 75 |
| 160 cm | ≤ 47 | 48–63 | 64–76 | ≥ 77 |
| 162 cm | ≤ 48 | 49–65 | 66–78 | ≥ 79 |
| 164 cm | ≤ 49 | 50–67 | 68–80 | ≥ 81 |
| 166 cm | ≤ 50 | 51–68 | 69–82 | ≥ 83 |
| 168 cm | ≤ 52 | 53–70 | 71–84 | ≥ 85 |
| 170 cm | ≤ 53 | 54–72 | 73–86 | ≥ 87 |
| 172 cm | ≤ 54 | 55–73 | 74–88 | ≥ 89 |
| 174 cm | ≤ 56 | 57–75 | 76–90 | ≥ 91 |
| 176 cm | ≤ 57 | 58–77 | 78–92 | ≥ 93 |
| 178 cm | ≤ 58 | 59–79 | 80–95 | ≥ 96 |
| 180 cm | ≤ 59 | 60–80 | 81–97 | ≥ 98 |
| 182 cm | ≤ 61 | 62–82 | 83–99 | ≥ 100 |
| 184 cm | ≤ 62 | 63–84 | 85–101 | ≥ 102 |
| 186 cm | ≤ 64 | 65–86 | 87–103 | ≥ 104 |
| 188 cm | ≤ 65 | 66–88 | 89–106 | ≥ 107 |
| 190 cm | ≤ 66 | 67–90 | 91–108 | ≥ 109 |
| 192 cm | ≤ 68 | 69–92 | 93–110 | ≥ 111 |
| 194 cm | ≤ 69 | 70–94 | 95–112 | ≥ 113 |
| 196 cm | ≤ 71 | 72–96 | 97–115 | ≥ 116 |
| 198 cm | ≤ 72 | 73–98 | 99–117 | ≥ 118 |
| 200 cm | ≤ 73 | 74–99 | 100–119 | ≥ 120 |
BMI chart in feet and poundsThe same chart in US units
Adult weights in each category, by height in feet (′) and inches (″). Whole pounds; each range ends one pound below the next.
| Height | Underweight (lb) | Healthy (lb) | Overweight (lb) | Obese (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4′10″ | ≤ 88 | 89–119 | 120–143 | ≥ 144 |
| 4′11″ | ≤ 91 | 92–123 | 124–148 | ≥ 149 |
| 5′0″ | ≤ 94 | 95–128 | 129–153 | ≥ 154 |
| 5′1″ | ≤ 97 | 98–132 | 133–158 | ≥ 159 |
| 5′2″ | ≤ 101 | 102–136 | 137–164 | ≥ 165 |
| 5′3″ | ≤ 104 | 105–141 | 142–169 | ≥ 170 |
| 5′4″ | ≤ 107 | 108–145 | 146–174 | ≥ 175 |
| 5′5″ | ≤ 111 | 112–150 | 151–180 | ≥ 181 |
| 5′6″ | ≤ 114 | 115–154 | 155–185 | ≥ 186 |
| 5′7″ | ≤ 118 | 119–159 | 160–191 | ≥ 192 |
| 5′8″ | ≤ 121 | 122–164 | 165–197 | ≥ 198 |
| 5′9″ | ≤ 125 | 126–169 | 170–203 | ≥ 204 |
| 5′10″ | ≤ 128 | 129–174 | 175–209 | ≥ 210 |
| 5′11″ | ≤ 132 | 133–179 | 180–215 | ≥ 216 |
| 6′0″ | ≤ 136 | 137–184 | 185–221 | ≥ 222 |
| 6′1″ | ≤ 140 | 141–189 | 190–227 | ≥ 228 |
| 6′2″ | ≤ 144 | 145–194 | 195–233 | ≥ 234 |
| 6′3″ | ≤ 148 | 149–200 | 201–240 | ≥ 241 |
| 6′4″ | ≤ 151 | 152–205 | 206–246 | ≥ 247 |
| 6′5″ | ≤ 156 | 157–210 | 211–252 | ≥ 253 |
| 6′6″ | ≤ 160 | 161–216 | 217–259 | ≥ 260 |
How the chart is made
Body mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Turn that around and every category boundary becomes a weight for each height: BMI 25 at 1.75 m is 25 × 1.75 × 1.75 = 76.6 kg. The chart draws those boundaries as curves, which is why the bands widen as height goes up; a tall person’s healthy range covers more kilograms than a short person’s.
The table rounds to whole kilograms or pounds so that each row reads cleanly: a range starts at the first whole weight whose BMI reaches the cut-off. Imperial heights are converted at exactly 0.0254 m to the inch and pounds at 0.45359237 kg, the international definitions, which is where the familiar shortcut of 703 × pounds ÷ inches² comes from (0.0254² ÷ 0.45359237 is 1 ÷ 703.07).
BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)² or 703 × weight (lb) ÷ height (in)²
- Adult categories: underweight below 18.5, healthy weight 18.5 to under 25, overweight 25 to under 30, obesity 30 or more (class 1 under 35, class 2 under 40, class 3 at 40 or more), for adults 20 and older. Source: CDC, Adult BMI Categories.
- The World Health Organization set these cut-offs for adults in its 2000 report on obesity, calling 18.5 to 24.9 the normal range. Source: World Health Organization, Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic (Technical Report Series 894).
What BMI can’t tell you
BMI is a screening measure, not a diagnosis. The CDC describes it as quick and reliable for sorting people by weight for height, but notes that it does not tell fat from muscle or bone, nor what kind of fat a person has or where it sits. A muscular athlete can land in the overweight band with little body fat, and an older adult who has lost muscle can sit in the healthy band with more fat than the number suggests.
Where fat sits matters for health. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute says a waist of more than 35 inches (89 cm) for women or more than 40 inches (102 cm) for men raises the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, so a tape measure adds something a chart can’t. For what your own numbers mean, talk to a doctor, who can weigh them alongside your history, blood pressure and blood tests.
The chart is for adults. For anyone under 20, BMI is read against others of the same age and sex instead: use the kids growth calculator.
- BMI does not distinguish between fat, muscle and bone mass, and doesn’t show what types of fat people have or where they carry it. Source: CDC, About Body Mass Index (BMI).
- A waist circumference of more than 35 inches for women or more than 40 inches for men increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Source: NHLBI (National Institutes of Health), Aim for a Healthy Weight.
- For Asian populations, a WHO expert consultation proposed additional public health action points at BMI 23, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5, while keeping the international categories. Source: WHO Expert Consultation, Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations (The Lancet, 2004).
Sources
- World Health Organization, Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic (Technical Report Series 894)
- CDC, Adult BMI Categories
- CDC, About Body Mass Index (BMI)
- NHLBI (National Institutes of Health), Aim for a Healthy Weight
- WHO Expert Consultation, Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations (The Lancet, 2004)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a healthy BMI for adults?
From 18.5 to just under 25, in the categories used by the World Health Organization and the CDC. Under 18.5 is underweight, 25 to under 30 is overweight, and 30 or more is obesity, split into class 1 (30 to under 35), class 2 (35 to under 40) and class 3 (40 or more). They apply to adults 20 and older, men and women alike.
How do I read a BMI chart?
Find your height down the left of the table, then read across: each column gives the range of weights in one category at that height. On the chart above, height runs along the bottom and weight up the side; the coloured band your point lands in is your category. Enter your own height and weight to put the point there.
Is the BMI chart the same for men and women?
Yes. Adult BMI categories don’t change with sex or age once you are 20, so the same chart serves everyone. The number is a starting point, though: two people with the same BMI can carry very different amounts of fat and muscle, which is why it is a prompt for a conversation with a doctor rather than a verdict.
Why doesn’t the chart work for children?
Children and teens are still growing, so their BMI is compared with others of the same age and sex as a percentile, not with fixed cut-offs. Under 20, use the kids growth calculator, which plots BMI-for-age on the CDC growth charts.
Are there different BMI cut-offs for Asian people?
A WHO expert consultation in 2004 found that many Asian populations have higher risks of type 2 diabetes and heart disease at BMIs below 25. It kept the international categories, but suggested extra public health action points at 23, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5 that countries can use to decide when risk rises for their own populations.