What Do the Body Mass Index Numbers Mean?
Once a person has determined his or her
BMI from the
body mass index table, the next step is to interpret the results. Body mass index results for children are interpreted differently from BMI numbers generated for adults.
For adults 20 years old and older, the results are interpreted using standard weight status categories that are the same for all ages and for both men and women. The standard weight status categories associated with BMI ranges for adults are shown below:
|
BMI
|
Weight Status
|
|
Below 18.5
|
Underweight
|
|
18.5 – 24.9
|
Normal
|
|
25.0 – 29.9
|
Overweight
|
|
30.0 and Above
|
Obese
|
For children and teens, after determining the BMI, the BMI number is plotted on the BMI-for-age growth charts (for either girls or boys) to obtain a percentile ranking. The percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI number among children of the same sex and age.
BMI-for-age weight status categories and the corresponding percentiles are shown in the following table:
|
Weight Status Category
|
Percentile Range
|
|
Underweight
|
Less than the 5th percentile
|
|
Healthy weight
|
5th percentile up to the 84th percentile
|
|
At risk of overweight
|
85th to less than the 95th percentile
|
|
Overweight
|
Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile
|
(Click BMI and Weight for more information on factors other than BMI that healthcare providers consider when determining a person's risk for certain medical conditions related to weight.)
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