The BMI (body mass index) is a value that shows your weight status. It is not tied to your overall state of health, but it can be used to indicate the risk of diseases connected to obesity (being overweight).

The tool is useful for people who are between 18-60 years of age. If you are outside of this age range, or are pregnant, the BMI calculation will not take your body composition into account. This exception also applies to athletes or body builders who might have a very high BMI value but not be at any risk for diseases associated with weight.

Using the Tool

Enter your weight in kilograms and your height in centimeters in the form below and press the "Let's see" button. To convert your height from imperial (feets and inches) to metric (metres and centimeters) use the following:

5 ft 8 inches = (5 x 12 inches in a foot) + 8 = 68 inches. Multiply 68 by 2.54 = 172.7 cm
8 stone 11 pounds = (8 x 14 pounds in a stone) + 11 = 123 pounds. Divide 123 by 2.2 = 55.9 kg

Your Weight (kg)	Your Height (cm)	Your BMI

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Disclaimer: This tool is not designed or intended to serve as medical advice. The BMI values given by this tool apply to a Western population. For some ethnic groups the BMI values need to be modified. For Chinese, Indian and Malaysian people, a BMI greater than 22 is regarded as overweight and a BMI greater than 26.5 is regarded as obese.

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Note if your BMI is high, you will be at increased risk ofdeveloping certain diseases, including:

• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease
• Adult-onset diabetes (type II)
• Osteoarthritis
• Female infertility

Waist Measurement

As stated previously, BMI is not on its own a very reliable guide for heart disease risk.

Your waist is reliable measure of your health status, since the waist is where the excess weight is carried. If you are apple-shaped, this is particularly worrying, and you are more likely to develop heart disease. If you are pear-shaped, this is still concerning, even if the risk is lower.

Waist-hip ratio

Another more reliable guide is the ratio of your waist measurement to you hip measurement. In other words, the narrowest to the widest points in the lower half of the body. For men, a ration of more than 1.0 and for women, a ratio of more than 0.8 means you need to reduce weight and get more exercise.