Medically reviewed by Suzanne Fisher, RD Key Takeaways Body mass index (BMI) is a calculation used to estimate your body fat.

This calculation divides an adult’s weight by their height squared. For most adults, the ideal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 range, but different ages have different ideal ranges.

"Color-coded Chart Improves Parents' Understanding Of Body Mass Index." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 September 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com / releases / 2009 / 09 / 090916090320.htm>.

Background: Weight for height in children is often assessed by comparing the child's weight-for-age centile with their height-for-age centile. However, this assessment has not been validated ...

Mass and weight are different. When you are talking about how much something weights, you are really talking about the object’s mass. Find out the differences between the terms “mass” and ...

In BMI world, a body mass between 18.5 and 24.9 is a healthy weight, between 25 and 29.9 is overweight, between 30 and 34.9 is obese, between 35 and 39.9 is class 2 obesity, and anything greater ...

Thus, a body mass of less than 18.5 is considered underweight; 18.5 to 24.9 is considered a healthy weight; 25 to 29.9 is overweight; 30 to 39.9 is obese; and 40 or more is morbidly obese.

Body mass index is a simple calculation with a complicated past. You generate it by taking your weight in kilograms and dividing it by the square of your height in meters. Critics have long argued ...