- The body mass index (BMI) is a quantity which makes it possible to estimate the body build
of a person.
- The BMI is a convenient rule of thumb used to broadly categorize a person as underweight,
normal weight, overweight, or obese based on tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) and
height.
- BMI corresponds to the weight (in kg) divided by the square of the height (in
meters).
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the body mass index as the standard for
assessing the risks linked to overweight.
| IMC (kg/m-2) | Interpretation |
| under 16,5 | Severely underweight |
| form 16,5 to 18,5 | Underweight |
| form 18,5 to 25 | Normal (healthy weight) |
| from 25 to 30 | Overweight |
| from 30 to 35 | Obese Class I (Moderately obese) |
| from 35 to 40 | Obese Class II (Severely obese) |
| over 40 | Obese Class III (Very severely obese) |
This formula for calculating the ideal weight is simple and very often used. The calculation
takes into account only the size and the gender:
For a woman, the ideal weight = Size - 100 - ((Size - 150) / 2.5)
For a man, the ideal weight = Size - 100 - ((Size - 150) / 4)
