Appendicular Lean Mass Index Calculator

About this calculator

The appendicular lean mass index (ALMI) is calculated as the combined lean (muscle) mass of both arms and both legs, measured by DEXA scan, divided by height in meters squared: ALMI = appendicular lean mass (kg) ÷ height² (m²), mirroring how BMI relates weight to height but focused specifically on limb muscle rather than total body weight.

Geriatricians and researchers use ALMI as the primary diagnostic measure for sarcopenia — age-related loss of muscle mass and strength — with the widely cited Baumgartner cutoffs flagging low muscle mass at roughly ALMI below 7.26 kg/m² in men and below 5.45 kg/m² in women (though updated consensus definitions, such as those from the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People, EWGSOP2, use somewhat different thresholds combined with grip strength and physical performance). Sports scientists also track ALMI in athletes to monitor limb-specific muscle development over a training cycle, separate from total body composition.

This calculator takes your combined arm and leg lean mass, height, and sex, then returns your ALMI and compares it against common sarcopenia screening cutoffs, so you can see where your limb muscle mass falls relative to reference standards.