An important means of estimating the health status of an individual is by calculating the body mass index (BMI) of that person. It is an important unit used in the healthcare and insurance industries to evaluate the health of a person.

Being overweight and obese, or even underweight are all indications of ill health. Such individuals are prone to health issues. The BMI of a person is a standard means of identifying their health status.

The number that you get by dividing the weight of a person by their height in meters squared is the BMI of that individual. Based on these calculations, you can also get online BMI calculators.

If you enter your height and weight, these calculators display your BMI. You can also refer to BMI charts that plot your BMI against your height and weight. While it seems to work well for most adults, standard BMI calculations don’t work well for children for whom separate BMI charts are available.

Body mass index (BMI) is an indicator of your body fat based on your height and weight. BMI can indicate whether your weight is healthy or unhealthy for your height. You can easily check your BMI using an online BMI Calculator. The 5Paisa BMI Calculator India is easy to use and understand and provides accurate results. 

A BMI index calculator is a useful tool to check if you are overweight or underweight. A higher BMI generally indicates a larger amount of body fat. It is a helpful screening tool to check if you are at risk of developing certain health issues arising from unhealthy weight. 

A Body Mass Index Calculator is an online calculator that helps determine whether you are overweight or underweight, based on your Body Mass Index. It relies on an equation to estimate body fat. By using this calculator, body fat can be checked through a BMI estimate. Although BMI does not directly measure body fat, it is a reasonable indicator of body fat and a way to check whether your weight is healthy or not. 

• An online BMI Calculator asks you to enter your height and weight
• Based on those two measurements, it calculates your BMI and gives you the result
• BMI is calculated by dividing your weight by the square of your height 
• Measuring body fat directly is a costly procedure
• Using an online BMI Calculator is a reliable way to get an estimate of body fat
• It is not a perfectly accurate measurement of fat but it is a reliable estimate
• It is used to check for weight ranges that may indicate potential health problems
• BMI calculator does not diagnose specific health problems
• BMI is an indicator of body-fat-related issues like obesity or being underweight
• It is a useful online tool to check healthy weight for adult men and women

The 5paisa BMI Calculator offers an easy and intuitive way for you to check your BMI using this online calculator.

• All you have to do is enter your height in centimetres and your weight in kilograms
• To do this, there are two sliding scales for height and weight
• Slide the knob on the height scale till it reaches your height
• Then slide the knob on the weight scale till it reaches your weight
• The number will show next to the sliding scale in cm or in kgs
• Keep an eye on the number so you know when you are at the point that represents your height or your weight
• Once you select your height and weight, look at the result on the right
• The body mass index calculator will tell you your BMI in kg/m2
• Based on your BMI, it will estimate whether you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese

You can calculate your BMI yourself using a calculator or you can do it on a BMI calculator online. It is simpler and quicker to do it on a BMI calculator online. You just have to enter your height and weight on the BMI calculator and it will show you the results. Based on the weight and height values you enter, a Body Mass Index calculator computes your Body Mass Index.

BMI is calculated by taking two body measurements – weight and height
Body Mass Index is computed by dividing your weight by the square of your height 
This indicates how your weight in kgs compares to your height in meters
The resulting value tells you your Body Mass Index
It’s a useful way to estimate whether your weight is healthy as per your height
If the result shows that your BMI is above or below the healthy range, you can take steps to reduce or increase your body fat or get a check-up

Using the 5paisa BMI Calculator Online offers important benefits. 

• The 5paisa BMI index calculator offers a way to check if you are overweight or underweight
• It is easy to use: all you have to do is slide the two scales to show your height and weight
• Since it is automated, you don’t have to calculate the BMI manually
• It tells you clearly whether the BMI is underweight, normal, or overweight
• It does not compromise the accuracy of the BMI calculation
• It gives an indication of your body mass based on how much you weigh for your height
• This is important because being overweight or underweight can potentially lead to various health issues 

BMI calculations work differently for kids due to two reasons. First, a child’s body changes rapidly which makes it difficult to keep calculating the BMI. Further, the adipose tissue (fat deposits) concentration of children is different from that of adults.

Due to these two reasons, you will find it difficult to keep track of a child’s BMI using standard adult BMI charts. Instead, there is another chart that doctors use to track a child’s BMI.

The basic principle of BMI charts for kids is the same as that of adults, using the height and weight figures of a child. Then, the BMI number is compared with other children of the same gender and age.

The formula for calculating kids' BMI values is the same that we use for adults. But the interpretation is different. The Indian Academy of Paediatrics, published a set of BMI figures for kids between 6 years and 18 years as follows:

BMI less than 15: Underweight
BMI from 16 to 22: Normal
BMI over 23: Risk of being overweight
BMI over 27: Risk of being obese

Another way of measuring the BMI of kids is as follows:

Multiply the weight of the child in pounds by 703
The example of a child weighing 184 pounds would be (184x703) = 129,352 = A
Multiply the height of the child in inches by the same number
The example of a child of 69 inches tall would be 69x69 = 4,761 = B
Now, divide A by B = (129,352÷4,761) = 27.2

So, in this case, the BMI of the child is 27.2

BMI is ineffective for assessing the body fat of children and teenagers. The difficulty lies with the erratic composition of body mass as their bodies are still developing and the proportion of muscle to fat keeps fluctuating.

Due to the above reason, we should consider BMI as a tool for screening but not a means of diagnostics. When assessing the health status of a child, you cannot use the BMI alone as a yardstick. You need to consider other factors like physical activity and nutrition for a more accurate assessment.

The concept of BMI is not new. It has been around since the 1840s when it was conceived. It grew in popularity in the 1970s when epidemiologists used it as an indicator of the health status of large populations.

With the development of the internet, the online BMI calculator came onto the scene. It made BMI calculations easier than ever. For the first time, it became possible to calculate BMI figures in a matter of seconds.

But for all its convenience, there are limitations to BMI calculators just as the concept of BMI has proven its limitations. You cannot and should not use BMI as the sole means for assessing individual health in terms of weight and body fat.

Imagine declaring a person unhealthy based on their BMI. You can’t declare an otherwise healthy person unhealthy just because they are obese. In the same vein, you cannot predict future health issues.

BMI is derived from physical measurements namely height and weight. It does nothing to reveal body composition in terms of muscle, bone mass, and fat deposits. This applies to different age groups as given below:

Adults

With adults, BMI will not give any indication of the amount of internal body fat. There can be wide variations such as:

Middle-aged adults inherently have more body fat than younger ones
Women tend to have more body fat than men
Elderly adults tend to have minimal body fat
Athletes have high levels of muscle

Young Adults

Using BMI to assess the health of young adults may not give you satisfactory results. You can use BMI to assess the health status of an obese child. But it doesn’t work when it comes to overweight, underweight, or normal weight children.

Being overweight can potentially lead to issues like: 

• Increased levels of unhealthy cholesterol 
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes 
• Heart disease 
• Stroke

Being underweight can potentially lead to issues like: 

• Weakened immunity
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Anemia 
• Bone loss
• Fatigue

Using a Body Mass Index Calculator online is a quick way to find out about body fat issues as soon as possible. It will help you understand if you need to take steps to reduce or increase your body fat. 

When you assess the health of a person in terms of risk of disease, you will get a more accurate picture by considering the percentage of fat in the body rather than the total body mass. Knowing the percentage of body fat will give you an idea of how much of the body weight is attributed to fat.

A person with a high percentage of body fat with no reference to their weight or BMI puts them in a higher risk category for developing health problems such as diabetes or cardiovascular issues.

However, BMI is a useful indicator of health status, especially when included with other health-related parameters. It can accurately indicate the level of body fat for about 90% of the population.