Adult BMI chart

Metric chart (kg)

Weight in kilograms. Formula: kilograms = BMI × (height in metres)². A person who is 175 cm sits at about 56.7 kg for BMI 18.5 and 76.3 kg for BMI 24.9. The same height reaches obesity class I at 91.9 kg (BMI 30).

US chart (lb)

Weight in pounds. Formula: pounds = BMI × (height in inches)² ÷ 703. At 5 feet 7 inches (67 in), BMI 18.5 is about 118 lb and BMI 24.9 is about 159 lb. BMI 30 at that height is about 192 lb. Rounding is to one decimal so you can check the calculator; a clinic scale is coarser than that.

What the five lines mean

Body mass index is weight divided by height squared. The World Health Organization adult chart, also used by the CDC for adults aged 20 and older, splits that ratio into bands. Under 18.5 is underweight. From 18.5 up to, but not including, 25 is the healthy-weight band. From 25 up to, but not including, 30 is overweight. From 30 the obesity range is split again: class I is 30 to 34.9, class II is 35 to 39.9, and class III is 40 and above.

This page prints 24.9 instead of 25 in the healthy column on purpose. The category changes at 25.0. A weight that lands on 24.9 is still inside the healthy band on the chart this site uses. A weight that lands on 25.0 is the first point of overweight. If you need the exact boundary for a height the table skips, use the calculator. It applies 18.5 and 24.9 to the centimetres or inches you type.

The 30, 35 and 40 columns are category doors, not instructions to reach them. They answer a different question: “how heavy is this height at the start of each obesity class?” Seeing the gap between 24.9 and 30 is more useful than a colour poster. At 170 cm that gap is about 72 kg to 86.7 kg. The kilograms in between are still overweight on this chart. They are not a second healthy zone.

What the chart cannot see

The same BMI can be muscle or fat. A lifter and a sedentary adult can share a row and not share a health picture. The chart also ignores waist. Two people at 180 cm and 80 kg have the same BMI and can have very different waist measurements. If central fat is the question, use the waist-to-height calculator after you have looked up the row.

Age is not a column. Standard adult cut-offs do not move at 40, 60 or 75. Some researchers argue that the lower-risk band sits a little higher in later life. This table does not apply that argument. Read BMI across adult ages if you want the distinction, and do not silently “age-adjust” a cell.

Some regional guidance discusses lower overweight thresholds for adults of Asian ancestry, often around 23 rather than 25. This chart does not switch cut-offs based on ancestry. If a clinician uses a different line, the kilograms here are still valid inputs: only the label on the column changes.

Pregnancy, oedema, amputation, and a large recent fluid shift make the row misleading. Children and teenagers need a percentile chart this site does not publish. Do not plot a child on these adult numbers.

Worked checks

170 cm and 70 kg: 70 ÷ 1.70² = 24.2, inside the healthy band. The metric row for 170 cm shows 53.5 kg at 18.5 and 72.0 kg at 24.9, so 70 kg sits near the top of that band, not over it.

5 feet 8 inches and 200 lb is the CDC’s own teaching example. Height is 68 inches. BMI = 703 × 200 ÷ 68² = 30.4, obesity class I. The US row for 5′ 8″ should show the BMI 30 weight just under 200 lb. If your arithmetic disagrees by more than a pound, you are rounding inches or using 25 instead of 24.9.

Neither example is a diagnosis. They are there so you can audit the table. If a cell fails that audit, trust the formula, not the cell.

After the lookup

If you wanted a single category, go back to the BMI calculator. It also prints BMI Prime (your BMI divided by 25) and the Ponderal Index, which this table leaves out on purpose. A chart that also tried to be a gauge would be worse at both jobs.

If the row is a flag rather than a plan, read where BMI falls short before you cut food. Energy estimates live on the calorie calculator. Plates live on the meal framework. The numbers on this page are not a meal plan and not a medication dose.

Measure height against a wall once a year. Later-life height loss moves every cell. A passport height from twenty years ago will point you at the wrong row. Weight on the table assumes the height in that row, not the height you remember.

Frequently asked

Cut-offs follow the WHO adult BMI classification and the CDC adult BMI categories (age 20+). Weights are computed on this page from those cut-offs. We summarise; we do not host those agencies.