OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
BMI Categories Chart
WHO Adult, Asian and Child BMI Ranges, CDC Percentile Groups for Children
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How the BMI Categories works
These BMI categories are the cut-offs doctors and researchers actually use: the World Health Organization's adult classes from severe thinness to obese class III, the lower WHO action points recommended for Asian populations, and the CDC percentile groups for children. Search the table or download it, and use the BMI calculator linked below to find your own number.
How the WHO BMI categories work
Body mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. The WHO sets four principal cut-offs for adults — underweight below 18.5, normal 18.5 to 24.9, overweight from 25 and obese from 30 — and splits each end into sub-classes. Obesity has three classes because the health risk climbs steeply above 35 and again above 40. The same thresholds apply to men and women and to every adult age.
Why there is a separate Asian scale
In 2004 a WHO expert consultation found that many Asian populations carry more body fat and face a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease at a lower BMI than European populations. It did not replace the international classes, but it added public health action points at 23 and 27.5, and countries including Singapore, India and Japan use similar lower thresholds in their own guidance.
Children and teenagers
A child's BMI changes with age and differs between boys and girls, so fixed numbers do not work. The CDC compares a child's BMI with a growth chart for their age and sex and reports a percentile. The categories in the table are percentile bands; the chart itself is needed to turn a BMI into a percentile.
FAQ
Is BMI a good measure of health?
BMI is a quick population screening number, not a diagnosis. It cannot tell muscle from fat, so athletes can score as overweight, and it says nothing about where fat is stored. Waist circumference, blood pressure and blood tests give a much fuller picture, and a doctor will use them alongside BMI.
Which BMI chart should I use?
Adults use the WHO international classes. If you are of South Asian, East Asian or South-East Asian background, many health services recommend checking the lower Asian action points as well, because the risk of diabetes rises earlier. Anyone under 20 should use a percentile chart for their age and sex instead.
Where do these BMI categories come from?
The adult classes come from the WHO technical report on obesity and its body mass index database, the Asian action points from the 2004 WHO expert consultation published in The Lancet, and the child categories from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The thresholds themselves are facts, so the table is free to reuse.
See also: all Everyday Data tools, Tech Data.
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