📊 BMI Chart by Age & Sex
BMI ranges by age and sex with WHO classifications.
Written by Albert Mateos · Founder & Editor
Last reviewed: May 2, 2026
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a simple measure of body fat based on your height and weight. While it does not directly measure body fat percentage, BMI is widely used as a screening tool to categorize individuals into weight status categories. The table below shows the standard WHO classification for adults of all ages.
BMI Categories & Health Risk
| Category | BMI Range (kg/m²) | Health Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Thinness | < 16.0 | High |
| Moderate Thinness | 16.0 – 16.9 | Moderate |
| Mild Thinness | 17.0 – 18.4 | Low |
| Normal | 18.5 – 24.9 | Low |
| Overweight | 25.0 – 29.9 | Moderate |
| Obese Class I | 30.0 – 34.9 | High |
| Obese Class II | 35.0 – 39.9 | Very High |
| Obese Class III | ≥ 40.0 | Extremely High |
Typical BMI by Age — Men
Percentile values showing where most men fall within each age group.
| Age Group | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile (Median) | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 21.5 | 24.0 | 27.2 |
| 30–39 | 23.0 | 25.8 | 28.8 |
| 40–49 | 24.0 | 27.0 | 29.8 |
| 50–59 | 24.2 | 27.4 | 30.2 |
| 60–69 | 24.0 | 27.2 | 30.0 |
| 70+ | 23.5 | 26.6 | 29.4 |
Typical BMI by Age — Women
Percentile values showing where most women fall within each age group.
| Age Group | 25th Percentile | 50th Percentile (Median) | 75th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 20.2 | 23.0 | 27.0 |
| 30–39 | 21.8 | 25.2 | 29.5 |
| 40–49 | 23.0 | 26.8 | 31.0 |
| 50–59 | 23.8 | 27.8 | 32.2 |
| 60–69 | 24.0 | 28.0 | 32.0 |
| 70+ | 23.5 | 27.2 | 31.0 |
Data sources: World Health Organization (WHO) BMI classification; NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) percentile data for US adults. BMI does not distinguish between muscle and fat mass — individuals with high muscle mass may have an elevated BMI without increased health risk.
About this chart
Comprehensive BMI chart showing Body Mass Index ranges by age and sex. Quickly find whether your BMI falls into underweight, normal, overweight, or obese categories using standard WHO classifications. Includes separate reference values for men and women across all adult age groups, helping you understand where you stand compared to healthy BMI ranges.
History of the BMI chart
The Body Mass Index has its roots in the work of Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet, who in the 1830s proposed the ratio of weight to height squared as a way to describe the average man. The metric remained a statistical curiosity for more than a century until physiologist Ancel Keys revived it in 1972 in the Journal of Chronic Diseases, comparing it against skinfold measurements and coining the modern term Body Mass Index. Keys argued that, while imperfect, it was the best simple proxy for body fatness in large populations. The current cut-offs (underweight, normal, overweight, obesity classes I-III) were standardized by the World Health Organization in 1995 and refined in the WHO Technical Report 894 (2000), which remains the canonical reference used by national health systems today.
How to read this chart step by step
To use the BMI chart correctly, follow these steps:
- Measure your height in centimetres or inches without shoes, standing fully upright.
- Weigh yourself in the morning, lightly clothed, before eating.
- Compute BMI as weight (kg) divided by height squared (m), or use the chart by locating your height row and weight column.
- Match the resulting value to the WHO category: under 18.5 underweight, 18.5-24.9 normal, 25-29.9 overweight, 30 and above obese.
- Interpret the result in context: a single BMI reading is a screening signal, not a diagnosis.
Examples by age and sex
Consider a 35-year-old woman, 165 cm and 62 kg: her BMI is 22.8, squarely in the normal range and consistent with average European reference data. A 50-year-old man at 180 cm and 95 kg lands at 29.3, the upper edge of overweight, a band where cardiometabolic risk begins to climb according to CDC tracking data. A 70-year-old woman at 158 cm and 58 kg has a BMI of 23.2; for older adults, recent geriatric literature suggests a slightly higher target band (23-27) is associated with lower mortality, illustrating how the same number is read differently by life stage.
Limitations
BMI was designed for populations, not individuals. It cannot distinguish lean mass from fat mass, so muscular athletes routinely score as overweight or obese while having very low body fat. It also performs poorly in older adults, where sarcopenia hides under a normal BMI, and in South and East Asian populations, who develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease at lower BMI thresholds (the WHO Asian-Pacific cut-off for overweight is 23). It does not capture fat distribution, which is why waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio are recommended as complementary measures.
Sources
- World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. WHO Technical Report Series 894 (2000).
- Keys A, Fidanza F, Karvonen MJ, et al. Indices of relative weight and obesity. J Chronic Dis. 1972;25(6):329-343.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Adult BMI. CDC, updated 2023.
- WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations. Lancet. 2004;363:157-163.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a healthy BMI range for adults?
- A healthy BMI for adults generally falls between 18.5 and 24.9, regardless of age. However, BMI does not distinguish between muscle and fat mass, so athletes or highly muscular individuals may have a higher BMI without excess body fat.
- Does BMI change with age?
- BMI itself is calculated the same way at any age, but healthy body composition does shift as you get older. Research suggests that slightly higher BMI values (25-27) in older adults may be associated with lower mortality risk compared to younger populations.
- Is BMI different for men and women?
- The BMI formula and classification thresholds are the same for men and women. That said, women naturally carry a higher percentage of body fat than men at the same BMI, which is why BMI should be used alongside other measures like body fat percentage for a more complete picture.