Understanding BMI: Healthy Weight Guidelines & Body Mass Index

Most health care facilities use a scale called the Body Mass Index to get a sense of a person's overall height and weight proportions. The BMI is one tool used to gauge if a person is in a condition of being overweight or underweight, particularly in reference to body fat.

Adults

• On average, the taller you are, the more weight you are able to carry in a healthy manner. A scale provided by the Department of Health and Human Services shows some examples. The healthy weight for a person who is 5 feet, 3 inches tall is much less than the healthy weight for someone who is 6 feet tall.

Children and Teens

• The BMI for children and teens is calculated differently in respect to the fact that body fat changes with age, and the fact that boys and girls have different body fat percentages.

Age

• As you get older, the guidelines for a healthy weight are a bit different, taking into account that older people have more body fat (in general) than younger people.

Gender

• At the same BMI, women will often have more body fat than men. This is one of the reasons why it is important to get health assessments that take into account more than simply height and weight.

Other Factors

• The BMI is not a diagnostic tool. To find out if a person is actually at risk, health care providers could also look at skinfold thickness measurements and evaluate diet, exercise and genetic inheritance.