Body Mass Index (Asian Cutoffs) Calculator

About this calculator

BMI itself is calculated the same way everywhere — weight in kg divided by height in meters squared — but the WHO recommends different classification cutoffs for Asian populations, since research showed that Asian populations tend to develop weight-related health risks like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease at lower BMI values than the standard Western thresholds. Under the Asian cutoffs, overweight starts at 23 (versus 25 on the standard scale) and obesity starts at 25 (versus 30 standard), with a further obese-II category above 30.

The difference stems from body composition studies showing that, at the same BMI, Asian individuals tend to carry a higher percentage of body fat and more visceral fat than Western populations, which changes the risk profile at a given number on the scale. Public health bodies and clinicians in many Asian countries, and doctors treating Asian patients elsewhere, use these adjusted cutoffs so that risk flags trigger earlier rather than waiting for someone to cross the standard 25 or 30 thresholds.

This calculator takes your height and weight, computes your BMI, and classifies it against the WHO Asian cutoffs rather than the standard scale.