BMI & Waist Check
Check your BMI and, if you add your waist, your waist-to-height ratio. Both are simple screening numbers. Neither one tells the whole story.
For coaches: using this with a client
- Ask before you share numbers, and keep the language neutral and person-first.
- Use BMI as one data point alongside waist, measurements, photos and how clothes fit. It can't tell muscle from fat.
- Record the NHLBI waist spot (just above the hip bones) separately from the program's own measurements, and measure the same way each time.
- A number here is never a diagnosis. Health concerns go to the client's doctor.
A screening number, not a diagnosis. BMI can't tell muscle from fat. Newer expert guidance says BMI alone shouldn't define obesity (Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission, 2025).
Your BMI
BMI ranges for adults 20 and older (CDC): under 18.5 underweight; 18.5 to under 25 healthy weight; 25 to under 30 overweight; 30 and over obesity (class 1: 30 to under 35; class 2: 35 to under 40; class 3: 40 and over).
Your waist
Add your waist above to see your waist-to-height ratio. It's a simple check that works alongside BMI: keep your waist under half your height.
Sources: NICE guideline, 2022 (waist-to-height ratio). NHLBI (waist over 35 in for women or 40 in for men, measured just above the hip bones). CDC adult BMI categories.