BMI calculator, Indian cutoffs
Enter a height and a weight. The instrument returns one number, reads it against both published scales, and states plainly where the two disagree. Nothing is flagged, coloured red or urged.
Indian heights are usually quoted in feet and inches — the arithmetic uses centimetres either way.
Nothing you type leaves your browser. With JavaScript off, the tables below return the same readings.
Next step
A reading is a measurement, not an instruction. These are the two things it is usually taken in order to decide.
Two rulebooks, one axis
The same reading, taken against both published scales. The upper bar carries the public-health action points the WHO expert consultation identified for Asian populations; the lower bar carries the international classification WHO deliberately retained at 25 and 30. Where the two bars differ, the column between them is shaded. Move the slider and the verdict beneath updates on both.
Overweight on the Asian-Indian scale · Overweight on the international scale — the two agree here.
Sources: WHO Expert Consultation on BMI in Asian populations, The Lancet 2004 (action points 23.0, 27.5, 32.5, 37.5); WHO international classification, Technical Report Series 894, 2000 (25, 30).
ਸਰੋਤ·WHO Expert Consultation, Lancet 2004 (publ. 10 Jan 2004)·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
Asian-Indian scale
WHO Expert Consultation 2004 public-health action points for Asian populations.
Standard WHO scale
The international classification, unchanged since 2000 and still used by most calculators.
Source: WHO Expert Consultation. “Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies.” The Lancet 2004;363(9403):157–163.
Source: World Health Organization. “Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic” (WHO Technical Report Series 894, 2000) — the international BMI classification for adults.
How the Asian-Indian reading is derived
- Height is converted to metres. Feet-inches are converted before any arithmetic runs.
- BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. The formula contains no sex, age or ethnicity term.
- The result is read against two published band sets. The Asian-Indian action points (23.0 and 27.5) come from the WHO expert consultation for Asian populations; the international classification (25 and 30) was deliberately retained by the same consultation.
- Healthy weight is reported as a range, never a single figure: the BMI 18.5 and 22.9 bounds are each multiplied by height squared.
- Where the two band sets return different verdicts, the gap is shaded in the diagram and stated in kilograms rather than left implied.
BMI = kg / m^2 healthy weight = 18.5 x m^2 ... 22.9 x m^2 overweight (Asian-Indian) from 23 x m^2 ; (WHO international) from 25 x m^2
The full BMI chart
Height down the side, weight across the top. This table is the instrument; the box above only saves you finding your row.
| Height | 45 kg | 50 kg | 55 kg | 60 kg | 65 kg | 70 kg | 75 kg | 80 kg | 85 kg | 90 kg | 95 kg | 100 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4'10" 147 cm | 20.7 | 23.0 | 25.3 | 27.6 | 29.9 | 32.3 | 34.6 | 36.9 | 39.2 | 41.5 | 43.8 | 46.1 |
| 4'11" 150 cm | 20.0 | 22.3 | 24.5 | 26.7 | 28.9 | 31.2 | 33.4 | 35.6 | 37.8 | 40.1 | 42.3 | 44.5 |
| 5'0" 152 cm | 19.4 | 21.5 | 23.7 | 25.8 | 28.0 | 30.1 | 32.3 | 34.4 | 36.6 | 38.8 | 40.9 | 43.1 |
| 5'1" 155 cm | 18.7 | 20.8 | 22.9 | 25.0 | 27.1 | 29.2 | 31.2 | 33.3 | 35.4 | 37.5 | 39.6 | 41.7 |
| 5'2" 157 cm | 18.1 | 20.2 | 22.2 | 24.2 | 26.2 | 28.2 | 30.2 | 32.3 | 34.3 | 36.3 | 38.3 | 40.3 |
| 5'3" 160 cm | 17.6 | 19.5 | 21.5 | 23.4 | 25.4 | 27.3 | 29.3 | 31.2 | 33.2 | 35.1 | 37.1 | 39.1 |
| 5'4" 163 cm | 17.0 | 18.9 | 20.8 | 22.7 | 24.6 | 26.5 | 28.4 | 30.3 | 32.2 | 34.1 | 35.9 | 37.8 |
| 5'5" 165 cm | 16.5 | 18.3 | 20.2 | 22.0 | 23.8 | 25.7 | 27.5 | 29.3 | 31.2 | 33.0 | 34.9 | 36.7 |
| 5'6" 168 cm | 16.0 | 17.8 | 19.6 | 21.3 | 23.1 | 24.9 | 26.7 | 28.5 | 30.2 | 32.0 | 33.8 | 35.6 |
| 5'7" 170 cm | 15.5 | 17.3 | 19.0 | 20.7 | 22.4 | 24.2 | 25.9 | 27.6 | 29.3 | 31.1 | 32.8 | 34.5 |
| 5'8" 173 cm | 15.1 | 16.8 | 18.4 | 20.1 | 21.8 | 23.5 | 25.1 | 26.8 | 28.5 | 30.2 | 31.8 | 33.5 |
| 5'9" 175 cm | 14.7 | 16.3 | 17.9 | 19.5 | 21.2 | 22.8 | 24.4 | 26.0 | 27.7 | 29.3 | 30.9 | 32.6 |
| 5'10" 178 cm | 14.2 | 15.8 | 17.4 | 19.0 | 20.6 | 22.1 | 23.7 | 25.3 | 26.9 | 28.5 | 30.1 | 31.6 |
| 5'11" 180 cm | 13.8 | 15.4 | 16.9 | 18.4 | 20.0 | 21.5 | 23.1 | 24.6 | 26.1 | 27.7 | 29.2 | 30.7 |
| 6'0" 183 cm | 13.5 | 14.9 | 16.4 | 17.9 | 19.4 | 20.9 | 22.4 | 23.9 | 25.4 | 26.9 | 28.4 | 29.9 |
| 6'1" 185 cm | 13.1 | 14.5 | 16.0 | 17.5 | 18.9 | 20.4 | 21.8 | 23.3 | 24.7 | 26.2 | 27.6 | 29.1 |
| 6'2" 188 cm | 12.7 | 14.2 | 15.6 | 17.0 | 18.4 | 19.8 | 21.2 | 22.6 | 24.1 | 25.5 | 26.9 | 28.3 |
| 6'3" 191 cm | 12.4 | 13.8 | 15.2 | 16.5 | 17.9 | 19.3 | 20.7 | 22.0 | 23.4 | 24.8 | 26.2 | 27.6 |
| 6'4" 193 cm | 12.1 | 13.4 | 14.8 | 16.1 | 17.4 | 18.8 | 20.1 | 21.5 | 22.8 | 24.2 | 25.5 | 26.8 |
BMI = kg ÷ m². Bands: under 18.5 underweight, 18.5–22.9 normal, 23–27.4 overweight, 27.5 and over obese (Asian-Indian scale, WHO 2004).
ਸਰੋਤ·WHO Asian-Indian BMI cutoffs·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
Reading the number honestly
ਇਹ ਸਾਈਟ 25 ਨਹੀਂ ਸਗੋਂ 23 ਕਿਉਂ ਪੜ੍ਹਦੀ ਹੈ — ਪੂਰੀ ਦਲੀਲ, 2004 ਸਲਾਹ-ਮਸ਼ਵਰੇ ਦੇ ਹਵਾਲੇ ਸਮੇਤ →
BMI = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)²
That is the whole formula. A 70 kg adult of 165 cm has a BMI of 70 ÷ 1.65² = 25.7. There is no adjustment for sex, age or ethnicity inside it — those enter only when you decide which band the answer falls into, which is exactly the decision this page makes visible.
Where the two scales disagree, the honest reading is not "one is right." It is that a BMI between 23 and 25 is a number that a European clinical guideline would ignore and an Indian one would flag. If you are Indian, the second is the more relevant reference population.
Source: WHO Expert Consultation. “Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies.” The Lancet 2004;363(9403):157–163. Abstract.
BMI at a specific height
A dedicated page per height, with every weight from 40 to 110 kg scored on both scales.
ਸਵਾਲ
What is a healthy BMI for Indians?
18.5 to 22.9 on the Asian-Indian scale. Above 23 is the first public-health action point identified by the WHO 2004 expert consultation for Asian populations, and 27.5 is the next. The international classification of 25 and 30 remains in place alongside it, which is why this calculator shows both.
Why is my BMI normal on one scale and overweight on the other?
Because the two scales were built for different reference populations. At the same BMI, South Asian adults tend to carry more body fat and more abdominal fat than European adults, so risk appears at lower numbers. Nothing about your body changes between the two answers — only the yardstick does.
How is BMI calculated?
BMI is your weight in kilograms divided by your height in metres squared. A person of 70 kg and 1.65 m has a BMI of 70 ÷ (1.65 × 1.65) = 25.7. There is no sex, age or ethnicity term in the formula itself — those only affect how the resulting number is interpreted.
Is BMI accurate?
As a population screen, reasonably. As a personal verdict, often not. It cannot tell muscle from fat, it misleads for very muscular people and older adults, and it says nothing about where fat sits — which is the question that matters most for Indian metabolic risk. A waist measurement answers that better.
BMI classification bands from the WHO Expert Consultation (Lancet 2004) and the WHO international classification. General information only — not medical advice. These calculators use published population formulas; they cannot account for your individual health. Consult a doctor before major diet or exercise changes. See data & method ਹਰ ਫ਼ਾਰਮੂਲੇ ਲਈ, ਅਤੇ sources ਹਵਾਲਿਆਂ ਦੀਆਂ ਤਾਰੀਖ਼ਾਂ ਲਈ।
ਸਰੋਤ·WHO Asian-Indian BMI cutoffs·ਸਮੀਖਿਆ ਜੁਲਾਈ 2026
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