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The Body Mass Index is defined as the individual's body mass divided by the square of their height. The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. It's used to assess the weight of a person. If the BMI increases, also increases the risk of diseases associated to excess weight, especially diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The below classification applies to both men and women of Caucasian ethnicity, aged between 18 and 65 years. The definitions are used by the WHO, the World Health Organization, as an international standard.
Category | range BMI - kg/m |
Severe underweight | < 16.5 |
Underweight | da 16,5 a 18,4 |
Normal | da 18,5 a 24,9 |
Overweight | da 25 a 30 |
Class I Obesity | da 30,1 a 34,9 |
Class II Obesity | da 35 a 40 |
Class III Obesity | > 40 |
Adults |
Women |
Men |
anorexia |
< 17.5 |
underweight |
<19.1 |
<20.7 |
in normal range |
19.1-25.8 |
20.7-26.4 |
marginally overweight |
25.8-27.3 |
26.4-27.8 |
overweight |
27.3-32.3 |
27.8-31.1 |
very overweight or obese |
>32.3 |
>31.1 |
severely obese |
35 - 40 |
morbidly obese |
40 - 50 |
super obese |
50 - 60 |
Median Body Mass Index values for Women |
Age |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
Median BMI |
24.4 |
26.4 |
27.8 |
28.4 |
27.5 |
Median Body Mass Index values for Men |
Age |
20-29 |
30-39 |
40-49 |
50-59 |
60-69 |
Median BMI |
24.5 |
25.9 |
26.8 |
27.2 |
27.0 |
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