How to Calculate Body Mass Index for Men

The Body Mass Index, or BMI, is an internationally recognized standard for measuring obesity. It was developed by Belgium statistician Adolphe Quelet and was once known as the Quelet scale. Today the BMI is used as a guide to determine whether people are at risk for health problems. Since it is a simple formula, it is easy calculate for men and doesn't require any special tools. You can calculate it with either the metric or the imperial method.

Instructions

1

Get your BMI using the metric formula by dividing your weight in kilograms by height in meters squared: weight (kg) / [height (m)]sq. For example, if your weight is 70 kg, and your height is 170 cm (1.70 m), calculate 70 (1.70)sq = 24.22

2

Calculate BMI using the imperial formula by dividing weight in pounds by height in inches squared and multiplying by 703: weight (lb) / [height (in)]sq x 703. For example, if your weight is 170 lbs, and your height is 5-foot-10 (or 70 inches), then calculate [170 (70)sq] x 703 = 24.38.

3

Both the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) do not believe there should be a difference between the BMI used for men and women, and they generally use 25 as the BMI cut off point for being overweight. However there is considerable scientific evidence that suggests there should be a difference due to the fact that women tend to have a higher body fat content. With this in mind, the adjusted chart for both men and women is below. Notice that the BMI values tend to be lower for women.
Weight categories correlate to BMI in this way:
Underweight: Men 20.7 or less, Women 19.1 or less
Ideal weight: Men 20.7 to 26.4, Women 19.1 to 25.8
Marginally Overweight: Men 26.4 to 27.8, Women 25.8 to 27.3
Overweight: Men 27.8 to 31.1, Women 27.3 to 32.2
Very Overweight or Obese: Men 31.1 to 45.4, Women 32.3 to 44.8
Extremely Obese: Men greater than 45.4, Women greater than 44.8