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The BMI Calculator
The BMI Calculator
With the Free Online BMI Calculator, you can determine your Body Mass Index for yourself or your child and even compare it to age-specific percentiles.
It's a quick way to assess whether body weight is within a healthy range for a given height and when used with percentiles, it also helps evaluate growth and development in children and teens. While BMI works well for most people, it can be misleading for those with a lot of muscle mass, where body fat percentage and FFMI give a more accurate picture of overall body composition.
Instructions
Age: Enter your age. This is required because the interpretation of BMI varies for children.
Gender: Select your gender.
Weight (kg): Enter your weight in kilograms. Click the button on the right to switch to pounds (lbs).
Height (cm): Enter your height in centimeters. Click the button on the right to switch to feet and inches.
Calculate: Click on the "Calculate" button to compute your BMI.
Results: Your BMI will be displayed below the input fields. It will be categorized as "Underweight", "Normal weight", "Overweight", etc., depending on your BMI value. For children and teenagers, a percentile value is used to better assess BMI and interpret the results. Discuss the values with your doctor.
BMI Percentiles for Children and Teenagers
Percentiles in BMI indicate how a person's Body Mass Index (BMI) compares to a reference group. They are often used for children and teenagers to assess BMI in an age- and gender-specific manner, as growth and body composition can vary greatly at this stage. Percentiles show the percentage of people in the group who have a lower or equal BMI. For example, a BMI at the 90th percentile means that 90% of the reference group have a lower BMI, while 10% have a higher one.
Such tools are only as reliable as the data they are based on. I have used data from the German Obesity Society as a reference for my calculator and compared it with other models. The results should be quite accurate, but it is always important to discuss the findings with a doctor and consider their assessment. Never should dietary habits or any changes for your child be made based on the results of this calculator without prior medical consultation.
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