How to Calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index)? 3 Simple and easy ways

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the simplest way to determine your fitness and calculate your weight range. It lets you know whether your weight is in accordance with your height. It is not a perfect measure of fitness but can be used as a starting point in your fitness journey. In this article, we show you 3 simple and easy ways to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). You can either use the BMI formula or a free online BMI calculator.

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Calculate your Body Mass Index using the BMI formula

The formula for calculating the BMI is fairly simple. All you need to do is measure your weight and height before you begin calculating your BMI. Make sure all measurements are either in Imperial (pounds and inches) or Metric (kilograms and metres) scale. If you enter your height in inches and your weight in kilograms, then the formula will not work.

Here is the formula for calculating Body Mass Index (BMI)

• BMI = weight/(height)^2

So basically, your BMI is your weight divided by the square of your height.

For example, your weight is 90 kilograms and your height is 6ft1in. In order to calculate your BMI, you’ll have to convert all measurements to either the Imperial or Metric scale. 6ft1in is 1.85m. Applying the formula, 

• BMI = 90/(1.85×1.85) = 26.29

Once you’ve calculated your BMI, use this chart to figure out what it means.

Use an online BMI calculator

If you don’t want to carry out the calculation yourself you can look up a body mass calculator online. Here are some you can use.

• National Institutes of Health (US) website.
• Times of India website.
• CDC (US) website.
• Free BMI Calculator

Use a Health app to calculate your BMI

Most health and calorie tracking apps like MyFitnessPal, HealthifyMe, and Fastic come with an in-built BMI calculator. All you need to do is enter your measurements and the app will calculate your BMI for you. If you use any health app on a regular basis and constantly update it with your weight, it will also update your BMI automatically.

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These are the 3 best ways to calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI). While BMI is an easy way to gauge your fitness level, it isn’t entirely perfect. Its biggest shortcoming is that it doesn’t account for muscle mass and fat. It lumps your entire weight as one category irrespective of whether it’s mostly muscle or fat. It also does not account for the different body types, not taking into account the different factors that are involved in fitness in general.