Ram Ravichandran
July 3, 2018
Body Mass Index is calculated using a person's height and weight. Using the calculated value, a person is classified into four broad categories:
In metric system, the formula is:
(weight in kg) / (height in meters * height in meters)
In British units, the formula is:
(703 * weight in pounds) / (height in inches * height in inches)
A sample calculation for a person with 100 lbs and 5 feet is shown below using the R programming language:
bmi <- 703 * 100 / (60 * 60)
bmi
[1] 19.52778
There are slight variations in the classification ranges in different countries of the world.
The classification for children (defined as people below age 20) is dependent on the age and is done using special tables and graphs.
A person can use the BMI classification to set up appropriate
A simple web based application to calculate BMI in British Units is available at: