Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) without the help of internet

Adolphe Quetelet a Belgian statistician in the early 19^th century developed a statistic for arriving “Body Mass” which is the combination of bones, tissues, muscle, fat etc in human body. The value arrived is referred as “Body Mass Index”. A person should be aware of their height & weight to evaluate their BMI index. Body Mass Index helps an individual to assess whether they are weak, healthy or obese.

This formula stays the same for men, women and children. The only exception for children being it is compared against percentile for children with same gender and age rather than comparing with existing threshold.

BMI Calculation:

Standard or Metric measures for BMI:

Weight should be in Kilo grams (Kg); Height should be in Meters (M)

Formula: Weight / (Height) ^2 (Weight in kilo grams divided by height in meters squared)

Example 1: Weight – 78kgs; Height- 1.8m

BMI Index = 78/ (1.8) ^2 = 24.07

If weight is available in Pounds (lbs) and height in Inches (in) then a conversion factor to be used.

Formula: Weight / (Height) ^2 *703 (Weight in pounds divided by height in inches squared * Conversion factor)

Example 2: Weight – 171.961 lb (Pounds); Height -70.86 in (Inches)

BMI Index = 171.961/ (70.86) ^ 2 * 703=24.07

BMI Table:

The value arrived should be compared with the BMI table below to identify under which category an individual stands. The below table is the standard one and there is a slight change on the thresholds in few countries. There are variants to BMI and it is called BMI prime but this is not exhaustively used.

	BMI Index
BMI Category	From	To
Severely Underweight	Less than 16
Underweight	16	18.5
Healthy Weight	18.5	25
Overweight	25	30
Moderately Obese	30	35
Severely Obese	Greater than 35

Even though BMI methodology has its own limitations, it is currently accepted globally .The BMI serves as an indicator and this gives the individual a glimpse on what should be their future course of action(Either to increase or decrease weight).

Limitations to BMI Calculator:

There are few BMI calculator’s which can be easily browsed through the net. The common issue faced is the conversion factor due to change in metric values. The below conversion may come in handy for the commonly used variables for height & weight.

1 kilo grams = 2.20462262 pounds

1 pound = 0.45359237 kilo grams

1 foot = 0.3048 meters

1 foot = 12 Inches

1 inches = 0.0254 meters

1 centimeter = 0.01 meter

Easy way to calculate BMI in smart phone without Internet (3 step process):

Open your calculator

Step 1: Enter weight (value in kilo grams)

Step 2: Divide by height (value in meters)

Step 3: Again divide the resultant value with height and you get your BMI

Note:  If the values available are in pounds and inches then multiply again by conversion factor (703)

 Doesn’t that sound easy? Why to wait, open your smart phone and calculate your BMI today.