Calculate BMI: Body Mass Index

Find out your BMI:

Interpreting the BMI result

In the table below we have the WHO (World Health Organization) BMI value classification, used for adults aged 20 or over.

Underweight (thinness)

It could be an indication that you may have some physical or emotional illness, low muscle mass or are probably not eating well, leading to a lack of absorption of nutrients necessary for the body to function properly and contributing to a weak and unwell immune system.

One example is calcium, which is vital for healthy bones. A deficiency in this nutrient leads to the risk of developing osteoporosis. Another very important nutrient is iron. A deficiency can lead to anemia, which can cause symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, and so on.

Are you underweight? Improve your diet to promote muscle mass gain and avoid fat gain.
Find out now the recommended amount of calories per day for you using our daily calorie intake calculator, practice exercises that increase lean mass gain and seek a general practitioner for evaluation.

Remember the formula: calories gained ARE GREATER than calories burned = Weight gain.

Healthy (normal) weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is one of the pillars of good health and strengthening your immune system. Our tip is to evaluate the amount of muscle mass and the percentage of fat in your body for a more in-depth analysis.

Remember the formula: calories gained EQUAL calories burned = weight loss.

Excess weight (overweight) and obesity

It can be characterized by an accumulation of fat under the skin and around the organs, increasing the chances of facing some health problem, such as:

• High blood pressure (hypertension);
• Decreased life expectancy;
• Type 2 diabetes;
• Stroke;
• High LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol;
• High triglyceride levels;
• Coronary heart disease;
• Certain types of cancers;
• Bone and joint damage;
• Sleep apnea;
• Respiratory problems;
• Chronic inflammations;
• Social problems and low quality of life.

An obese person is more susceptible to the risk of these problems, although overweight people are also at risk.

Improve your diet by reducing calories. To do this, find out now the recommended daily calorie intake for you using our daily calorie intake calculator. Practice exercises that increase calorie burning and speed up your metabolism. Finally, seek out a general practitioner, nutritionist and physical trainer for evaluation.

Remember the formula: calories gained ARE LESS than calories burned = Weight loss.

Attention: Muscular people, such as athletes, may have a healthy weight but receive a BMI result classified as “overweight or obese”. This occurs because muscle is denser than fat. We will explain this in more detail in the topics below.

What is BMI?

BMI is the abbreviated acronym for Body Mass Index. It is the simplest method that provides an indication of whether your weight is in a healthy range for your height.

The BMI result is divided into groups (described in the table above) and does not consider the amount of fat, muscle, liquids and other compositions, to actually define whether you have a healthy weight.

How to calculate BMI?

It's a simple calculation, divide the weight (in kg) by the height squared (in meters). The formula is BMI = weight kg/m ² (height x height).

Example: Weight = 69 kg, Height = 167 cm (1.67 m)
Calculation: 69 ÷ (1.67) ² = 24,7

For whom the BMI calculation is not recommended

Pregnant women, children, the elderly, people who suffer from high fluid retention in the body, performance athletes and bodybuilders.

This is because BMI considers an individual's total weight, not whether the weight is the result of excess fat (unhealthy), muscle (healthy), bone mass, or other body compositions.

Performance athletes have high muscle mass, generating a high BMI, classifying them as “overweight” or “obese”, but in this case they are healthy, as what influenced their weight was the volume of muscle mass and not excess fat.

Elderly or children may have low lean mass, presenting a lower BMI and resulting in a “healthy weight” even if they have excess fat.

In pregnancy and lactation, the composition of a woman's body is altered, so BMI is not recommended.

The alternative for some cases is to perform a bioimpedance test, as each body composition will be assessed separately, such as the percentage of fat, muscle mass, bone mass, body water, basal metabolism and even the segmented analysis of body limbs.