1. What is BMI?

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify underweight, overweight and obesity in adults. For Indian population, the cutoffs are adjusted to account for higher health risks at lower BMI levels compared to Western populations.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the standard BMI formula:

Where:

• \( weight \) — Body weight in kilograms
• \( height \) — Height in meters

Special Features: This calculator applies Indian-specific BMI cutoffs for adults and percentile-based classification for girls under 20 years.

3. Indian BMI Standards

For Indian Adults:

• Underweight: BMI < 18.5 kg/m²
• Normal: BMI 18.5-22.9 kg/m²
• Overweight: BMI 23-24.9 kg/m²
• Obese: BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²

For Indian Girls (under 20): Uses CDC growth charts with BMI-for-age percentiles.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter weight in kg, height in meters. For girls under 20, enter age for percentile-based classification. Measurements should be accurate for valid results.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: Why different BMI standards for Indians?
A: Indians have higher body fat percentage at lower BMI and higher risk of metabolic diseases at lower BMI compared to Caucasians.

Q2: What is a healthy BMI for Indian adults?
A: 18.5-22.9 kg/m² is considered healthy for Indians, lower than the Western standard of 18.5-24.9.

Q3: How accurate is BMI for children?
A: For children and teens, BMI-for-age percentiles are more appropriate than fixed cutoffs.

Q4: Are there limitations to BMI?
A: BMI doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat. Athletes may have high BMI without excess fat, while some may have normal BMI but high body fat.

Q5: Should BMI be the only measure of health?
A: No, waist circumference, body fat percentage, and other measures should also be considered for complete assessment.