To use this calculator:

You can either use the sliders or type your height (size) and weight into the large boxes below. Click anywhere outisde of the input fields to calculate the new BMI number. See below to understand your results.

If you are overweight:

Anyone who is overweight should try to avoid gaining additional weight. Additionally, if you are overweight with other risk factors (such as high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, or high blood pressure), you should try to lose weight. Even a small weight loss (just 10% of your current weight) may help lower the risk of disease. Talk with your healthcare provider to determine appropriate ways to lose weight.

Limitations

• This BMI calculator is only valid for adults. BMI for children is age based and can be calculated using this BMI-for-age calculator
• BMI may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.
• BMI may underestimate body fat in older persons and others who have lost muscle mass.
• In addition to BMI, waist circumference and other health factors should be considered to estimate your risk of obesity-related diseases.

For more information on BMI, see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website on Healthy Weight.

Assess your weight and health risk.

The World Health Organization states "Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer."

Use these calculators and tools as a personal assessment of your weight and potential health risk. This information is not meant to diagnose a health problem but can and should be discussed with your health care practitioner.

BMI Calculator
Body Mass Index (BMI) is one way to determine if your weight is putting your health at risk. While BMI does not take distribution of body fat into account, combining this measure with an assessment of your waist circumference can provide an indication of body fat related health risk. Try it.

Waist Measurement
The location of fat on your body is also a risk factor for health problems. Recent research shows that when excess weight is carried on the abdomen, there may be greater risk of disease than when excess weight is located around the hips or thighs. Measuring your waist circumference is a way to check your fat distribution. Here's how.

Are you at risk for Heart Disease or Stroke?
Your risk of heart disease is related to your family history, your age, any current diseases and conditions, as well as your BMI and waist measure. Increasing your physical activity and eating healthful foods are ways you can take control and improve your health. Take this quiz to learn more about your risk for heart disease and stroke, and what you can do.

Know your total cholesterol, HDL level, and blood pressure? Try this 10-year cardiac risk assessment tool.

Are you at risk for Diabetes?
Like heart disease, there are several factors that can predict your risk for developing diabetes or pre-diabetes, and some are within your control to change. Try this risk calculator and talk to your health care provider about the results.

Healthy Eating

What do we mean by healthy eating?
Consume more fruits, vegetables and whole grains every day; choose lean, low-fat or fat-free meats, poultry, and milk or milk products; and reduce intake of saturated fat, sugar, salt and alcohol.

MyPyramid Menu Planner
MyPyramid uses the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans and helps you to choose food and meals specific for your age, gender, and weight. Use this interactive MyPyramid meal planning tool to compare your eating habits to MyPyramid recommendations. You can enter foods eaten for today, or plan ahead for well balanced meals tomorrow. Watch the servings of healthy foods add up and note whether you exceed your suggested calorie level. This tool is free, you just need to register. Take the site tour for help on how to use it.

How do your food portions really measure up?
Balancing your food choices and calorie intake can be challenging today because portion sizes have grown over the past 20 years. In restaurants, the plate arrives with more than enough food for two people. Ever-larger portions change what Americans think of as a "normal" portion size and this affects eating habits at home as well. Take the Portion Distortion quiz and see how good you are at "eyeing-up" portion sizes and guessing the physical activity equivalients of these extra calories.

Active Living

What do we mean by Active Living?
Be physically active at least five days per week. Adults should aim for 30 minutes a day and children should be active for 60 minutes a day. Walk to and from school, park farther away and walk to destinations, take the stairs instead of the elevator--all of these add up.

Be Active Your Way (open accessible version in new window)

To measure your waist circumference:

• Stand up, the measurement should be done on a bare abdomen.
• Circle your waist with a measuring tape just above your hip bone, or just below your belly button.
• The tape should be parallel to the floor.
• The tape should be snug but not compressing your skin
• Relax, exhale, and measure your waist.

Your waist measure may indicate a higher risk of disease if :

• You are a woman with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches
• You are a man with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches

Heart health can improve with even small changes to the waist measurement. In most cases it is a better health assesment than weight or BMI changes alone. A person can gain weight and still lose inches around their waist if they are working out and improving their strength and muscle mass.

How to lose abdominal fat?
There is no trick or shortcut. By cutting back on what you eat, choosing healthy foods, and increasing your activity, your body will burn fat all over. But you can't make it target the fat on your belly. Abdominal exercises like crunches will strengthen your abdominal muscles, but don't burn fat as well as aerobic exercise like brisk walking, jogging, bike riding, cardio classes, etc. So get moving!