The Asian BMI

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of the weight of a person according to height. It does not indicate the body fat percentage nor how healthy a person is. But it gives a general idea if you are overweight or underweight, and if you are at health's risk.

Calculation of BMI in SI units:

BMI = weight (kg)
     ------------
      height x height (m2)

The Singapore Asian BMI takes into account the Asian's smaller frame and the body fat percentages. For Singapore Asians, an Asian BMI of 27.5 and above (instead of BMI 30) is an indication of obesity and an Asian BMI of 23 to 27.4 (instead of BMI 25) is an indication of overweight.


The recommended Singapore's Asia BMI cut-offs:

BMI for Adults (kg/m2)        Health Risk
27.5 and above                High Risk
23 - 27.4                     Moderate Risk
18.5 - 22.9                   Low Risk/
                              Healthy Range
Below 18.5                    Risk of  
                              nutritional
                              deficiency and
                              osteoporosis 

(Singapore Ministry of Health and Health Promotion Board)

The values differ slightly from each ethnic race to another in Singapore and from each Asian country.

Check your weight against your height and find out what Asian BMI you are at ! This table shows the healthy range you should be at.

Height (m)            Asian BMI
              19    20    21    22    23

                     Weight in kg

1.473         41    44    45   47.6   49.9
1.498         43    45    47   49.4   51.7
1.524         44    46    49   50.8   53.5
1.549         45    48    50   52.8   55.3
1.600         49    51    54   56.2   59
1.625         50    53    55   58.1   60.8
1.651         52    54    57   59.9   62.9
1.676         54    56    59   61.7   64.4
1.700         55    58    61   63.5   66.2
1.727         57    59    63   65.3   68.5
1.752         58    61    64   67.6   70.3
1.778         60    63    66   69.4   72
1.803         62    65    68   71.2   74.8
1.828         64    67    70   73.5   76.7
1.854         65    68    72   75.3   78.9
1.879         67    70    74   77.6   81.2
1.900         69    73    76   79.8   83.5
1.930         71    74    78   81.6   85.7