BMI calculator, with Asian-Indian cut-offs
Most BMI calculators use international thresholds. For an Indian body those thresholds are set too high, so this one uses the lower cut-offs actually applied in India, and tells you what the international ones would have said too.
Nothing you type here is sent anywhere. The calculation runs in your browser.
The cut-offs this calculator uses
| Category | Asian-Indian | WHO international |
|---|---|---|
| Underweight | Below 18.5 | Below 18.5 |
| Normal | 18.5 – 22.9 | 18.5 – 24.9 |
| Overweight | 23.0 – 24.9 | 25.0 – 29.9 |
| Obese | 25.0 and above | 30.0 and above |
Why the Indian numbers are lower
At the same BMI, South Asians tend to carry more body fat than Europeans, and more of it around the organs rather than under the skin. The practical consequence is that the metabolic risk which shows up at a BMI of 25 in a European population shows up nearer 23 here.
That is why a calculator that tells a 24-BMI Surat resident they are “normal” is giving them a European answer to an Indian question.
What BMI misses once you start lifting
BMI is height and weight. It has no way of knowing whether the weight is muscle or fat. A member who has been lifting for two years can easily read “overweight” while carrying less fat than they did at a lower weight.
This is not a technicality, it is the single most common reason people who are making excellent progress conclude they are failing. If you are training, your waist measurement and your logbook are both better instruments than the scale.
What to use instead
- Waist at the navel, measured unsqueezed, once a week at the same time of day. Indian guidance treats above 90 cm in men and above 80 cm in women as raising risk.
- The weights you lift, written down. If they go up while your waist goes down, everything is working.
- How your clothes fit. Unscientific, and the thing you actually care about.
Where a doctor comes in
BMI is a population screening tool, not a diagnosis. If your result concerns you, or if you have diabetes, thyroid problems, PCOS or heart disease in the family, talk to a doctor rather than to a calculator. If you want to act on it in the gym, that is what coaching is for.
BMI FAQ
- What is a healthy BMI for Indians?
- The cut-offs used in India are lower than the international ones. Indian health guidance treats a BMI of 23 and above as overweight and 25 and above as obese, where the WHO international thresholds are 25 and 30. This is because South Asians tend to carry more body fat, and more of it around the organs, at the same BMI as Europeans.
- Is BMI accurate for people who lift weights?
- No. BMI cannot tell muscle from fat, so a trained person often reads as overweight while carrying little fat. If you lift, treat BMI as a rough starting point and use your waist measurement and how your clothes fit as the better signals.
- What is a normal waist size for an Indian adult?
- Indian guidance generally treats a waist above 90 cm in men and above 80 cm in women as raising health risk, again lower than the international figures. Waist is measured at the navel, unsqueezed, and for most people it is more informative than BMI.
- Should I use BMI to set a goal weight?
- Not on its own. BMI is a population screening tool, not a personal target. A better goal is a waist measurement and a set of lifts that go up, both of which respond to what you actually do in the gym.