BMI Chart by Age and Weight

A BMI chart turns the formula into a lookup: find your height and weight, read off your BMI, and see which band you fall in. Use the BMI calculator above for your exact number, then use the charts below to see where you sit by age and weight — and what your healthy range looks like.

The charts on this page cover adults. The cut-offs are the same for every adult age group — the healthy band is 18.5 to 24.9 — but the tables show how weight ranges move with height, how to read the chart for your age group, and where the chart stops being useful.

How to Read the BMI Chart

A BMI chart is a lookup table: find your height, find your weight, and read off your BMI and your band. You do not need to do the division yourself — but knowing the formula helps you trust the chart. BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)², or in imperial units, BMI = 703 × weight (lb) ÷ height (in)². The BMI calculator above gives your exact number; the charts below show where that number sits.

1. Find your height in the left column of the chart.
2. Find your weight across that row, or read the weight range for your band.
3. Read the band: under 18.5 is underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 is healthy, 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight, 30.0 and over is obese.
4. Check the distance to the nearest edge — the gap between your weight and the top of the healthy range is the amount to aim for.

One caution before you use any chart: the bands are the same for every adult age group. There is no separate “healthy BMI for age 50” cut-off. What changes with age is how you read the number, which the age-group section below explains. Charts showing different healthy bands by age usually show average BMIs, not healthy targets — do not confuse the two.

BMI Chart by Age Group

The table below shows, for each adult age group, the cut-offs that apply and the extra checks that matter most at that age. The bands never change; the context does.

Why does the same number mean different things at different ages? Because muscle is gradually replaced by fat with age, so an older person can sit inside the healthy BMI band while carrying an unhealthy amount of fat. Several large studies have found that slightly higher BMIs, up to around 27, are linked with lower mortality in people over 65 — the extra weight provides a reserve against illness and the muscle loss that comes with age. That does not make a BMI of 32 healthy at 70, but it does mean a BMI of 26 at 70 is rarely a reason to diet aggressively. After 65, strength, balance, and nutrition matter more than the number, and unintentional weight loss at any BMI needs a doctor’s check.

BMI Chart for Older Adults

For adults over 65, read the chart with two adjustments. First, treat a BMI between 25.0 and 27.0 as a grey zone rather than a clear problem, provided waist size, blood pressure, and blood sugar are normal and you are active. Second, pay more attention to the bottom of the chart than the top: a BMI below 22 in an older adult, especially with recent weight loss, deserves a check even though it sits inside the standard healthy band. Frailty and muscle loss are the bigger risks at this age, and a little extra weight is often protective.

Why There Is No Separate Chart for Children Here

Children and teenagers are assessed with BMI-for-age percentile charts instead of the adult bands: a child between the 85th and 95th percentile for their age and sex is classed as overweight, and at or above the 95th percentile as obese. A 12-year-old and a 16-year-old can share the same BMI number and be in completely different categories, because healthy weight changes constantly as they grow. The adult charts on this page must never be used for children — ask your paediatrician for the right percentile chart.

Healthy Weight Chart by Height and Weight

This is the core chart: for each height, the weight at four BMI points — 18.5 (bottom of the healthy band), 22 (middle of the band), 25 (top of the band), and 30 (obese). Find your height row, then see which weights put you in each band.

Read it as ranges: at 170 cm, the healthy band runs from 53.5 kg to 72.0 kg (BMI 24.9); the table’s 25.0 column reads 72.3 kg. At 180 cm, healthy is 59.9 kg to 80.7 kg. At 160 cm, it is 47.4 kg to 63.7 kg. If your weight is between the 18.5 and 25 columns, your BMI is healthy; between the 25 and 30 columns, overweight; at or above the 30 column, obese. The full healthy range for more heights is in the table below.

BMI Chart for Women and Men

The chart is the same for women and men — the formula and the bands do not change by sex. But the reading differs, because women naturally carry a higher body fat percentage at the same BMI, typically about 10 percent more, and store more of it on the hips and thighs, which carries lower risk than abdominal fat. Men store more fat around the abdomen, so a high BMI in a man more often comes with a large waist.

Women

For women, the waist cut-offs are 80 cm (31.5 inches) for increased risk and 88 cm (35 inches) for substantially increased risk. A woman with a BMI of 24 and a waist of 82 cm carries more risk than the BMI alone suggests, while a woman with a BMI of 26 and a waist of 74 cm who trains regularly may carry less. After menopause, fat tends to move toward the abdomen, so the waist check matters more with age. If you are pregnant, do not use the chart at all — pregnancy has its own weight-gain guidance.

Men

For men, the waist cut-offs are 94 cm (37 inches) for increased risk and 102 cm (40 inches) for substantially increased risk. Men who lift weights are the most common case of a misleading chart reading: a muscular man at 100 kg and 1.80 m has a BMI of 30.9, technically obese, but with 14 percent body fat he is clearly not carrying excess fat. Check your body fat percentage before acting on a high BMI if you train.

For both sexes, the waist-to-height rule is a useful second check: keep your waist under half your height. A 170 cm person should aim for a waist under 85 cm.

How to Measure Your Waist

1. Stand relaxed and breathe out naturally — do not suck your stomach in.
2. Find the top of your hip bones and the bottom of your ribs, and measure halfway between them.
3. Wrap a tape measure around your bare waist at that level, keeping it level all the way around.
4. Make sure the tape is snug but not tight, and read the number at the end of a normal breath out.
5. Measure twice and take the average, then compare with the cut-offs in the table above.

BMI Prime: Reading the Chart as a Ratio

Every BMI on the chart can also be read as BMI prime — your BMI divided by 25, the top of the healthy range. It answers “how far am I from the healthy ceiling?” in one tidy number. A prime below 1.00 means you are inside the healthy band, 1.00 means you sit exactly on the boundary, and anything above it tells you by what fraction you exceed it.

BMI prime is best for tracking progress, because the goal is always the same: get the prime under 1.00. The calculator above also shows the ponderal index, which divides weight by height cubed instead of squared and stays steadier for very short or very tall people. For the default example — 70 kg at 175 cm — the ponderal index is 13.1.

What the Chart Cannot Tell You

A chart is a lookup, not a diagnosis. It has the same blind spots as the formula it is built from, and knowing them keeps you from acting on a misleading reading.

• It cannot tell muscle from fat. A rugby player at 100 kg and 1.80 m reads 30.9 on the chart — obese — but with 14 percent body fat, the label is simply wrong for him.
• It ignores where fat sits. Abdominal fat drives far more risk than fat on the hips and thighs, and two people with identical chart readings can carry very different waistlines.
• It does not adjust for age, sex, or ethnicity. Older adults, women, and people of South or East Asian descent all need the number read with different context — for many Asian populations, risks start rising at a BMI of 23 rather than 25.
• It says nothing about fitness. A person with a BMI of 28 who exercises regularly, eats well, does not smoke, and has normal blood pressure and blood sugar is at lower risk than a sedentary person with a BMI of 24 and poor metabolic markers.
• It is not for children or pregnancy. Growing bodies need percentile charts, and pregnancy has its own weight-gain guidance — the adult chart applies to neither.

The World Health Organization’s obesity fact sheet explains how these thresholds are used worldwide and why they are screening cut-offs, not personal verdicts.

From Chart to Action

Your chart reading points to a next step. Pick the one that matches your band and start there — small, boring plans kept for months beat dramatic overhauls every time.

1. Healthy (18.5–24.9). Keep doing what works. Recheck monthly, stay active, and keep your waist under half your height.
2. Overweight (25.0–29.9). Work out your daily calorie needs with the calorie calculator and eat 250 to 500 kcal below maintenance. Add a 30-minute daily walk and two strength sessions a week.
3. Obese (30.0 and over). The same steps apply, plus a conversation with your doctor, especially if you have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or joint pain.
4. Underweight (below 18.5). Add calorie-dense foods and strength training, and see a doctor if the low weight is unintentional.
5. Recheck monthly, not daily. Daily readings mostly track water fluctuation and scale noise. Compare monthly averages for the real trend.

Related tools on this site: the main BMI calculator for your exact number, the body fat calculator for fat versus lean mass, the ideal weight calculator for your target range, and the TDEE calculator for how many calories you actually burn each day.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a healthy BMI by age?

The healthy band is 18.5 to 24.9 for every adult age group. The cut-offs do not change with age, but how you read the number does: after 65, a BMI up to around 27 is often less concerning, and strength, waist size, and body composition matter more than the number alone.

How do I read a BMI chart?

Find your height in the left column, find your weight across that row, and read the band: under 18.5 is underweight, 18.5 to 24.9 is healthy, 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight, and 30.0 and over is obese. The distance to the top of the healthy range is the amount to aim for.

What is my ideal weight for my height?

Multiply 18.5 and 24.9 by your height in metres squared. At 170 cm that gives 53.5 to 72.0 kg; at 180 cm it gives 59.9 to 80.7 kg. The calculator above works out your exact range.

Is the BMI chart the same for men and women?

Yes — the formula and the bands are identical. But women naturally carry more body fat at the same BMI, and men store more fat around the abdomen, so waist size and body fat percentage help interpret the chart reading for each sex.

Can I use the BMI chart for my child?

No. Children and teenagers need BMI-for-age percentile charts, not the adult bands. A 12-year-old and a 16-year-old can share the same BMI number and be in completely different categories. Ask your paediatrician for the right chart.

What is BMI prime?

BMI prime is your BMI divided by 25, the top of the healthy range. A prime of 1.00 means you sit exactly at that boundary; below 1.00 is inside the healthy band, above 1.00 is over it. For a BMI of 22.9, the prime is 0.91.

Disclaimer: This calculator is for general information only and is not medical advice. BMI is a screening measure, not a diagnosis. Talk to a healthcare professional about your weight and health.