BMI Calculator for Women — with Waist Risk Assessment
Calculate your BMI and see your WHO weight category. Optionally enter your waist circumference to assess cardiovascular risk — the WHO defines separate thresholds for women (80 cm and 88 cm).
Units
kg
cm
cm
WHO adult BMI category for women
- 1
Height in metres
1.65 - 2
Height squared (m²)
1.65 × 1.65 = 2.7225 - 3
BMI
65 ÷ 2.7225 = 23.9Weight (kg) divided by height squared (m²).
How does this calculator work?
BMI for women = weight (kg) ÷ height (m)². The WHO categories (underweight < 18.5, normal 18.5–24.9, overweight 25–29.9, obese ≥ 30) are the same as for men, but women naturally carry more body fat at the same BMI. Adding waist circumference gives extra cardiovascular risk information — WHO thresholds for women are 80 cm (moderate risk) and 88 cm (high risk).
Formula
How this is calculated
The BMI formula is the same for everyone: weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. For adult women, the WHO uses the same four categories as for men — underweight below 18.5, normal weight 18.5–24.9, overweight 25–29.9, and obese at 30 or above. This calculator also shows the healthy weight range in kilograms that corresponds to a BMI of 18.5–24.9 at your specific height.
However, BMI does not distinguish between fat and muscle, and women tend to carry a higher proportion of body fat than men at the same BMI. For this reason, the WHO also recommends waist circumference as an independent risk indicator. In women, a waist measurement above 80 cm signals moderately increased cardiovascular and metabolic risk, while above 88 cm signals substantially increased risk. Waist circumference is optional in this calculator — if you enter it, a second range meter shows where you sit on those thresholds.
BMI and waist circumference are screening tools, not diagnostic measures. They are most meaningful when considered together with age, lifestyle, ethnicity, and overall health. Women who are pregnant or heavily muscled will see results that do not reflect their true health status. Postmenopausal women may carry more abdominal fat even within a normal BMI, making waist measurement especially informative in that group.
Frequently asked questions
Yes — the WHO uses the same cut-offs for adult men and women: 18.5–24.9 is normal weight, 25–29.9 is overweight, and 30+ is obese. However, women naturally have about 5–10% higher body fat than men at the same BMI, so some researchers advocate adjusting BMI thresholds for women, though no universally adopted revised scale exists yet.
Abdominal fat (especially visceral fat around the organs) is linked to higher risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, independent of total body weight. For women, WHO identifies 80 cm as the threshold for elevated risk and 88 cm for substantially elevated risk. A woman at a normal BMI but with a large waist is still at higher cardiometabolic risk.
BMI tends to underestimate adiposity in older women, who lose muscle mass (sarcopenia) with age, leaving a higher fat-to-muscle ratio at the same BMI compared to younger women. Waist circumference and, if available, body composition measurements give a more complete picture for women over 60.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). BMI Calculator for Women — with Waist Risk Assessment [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/bmi-women-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "BMI Calculator for Women — with Waist Risk Assessment." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/bmi-women-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "BMI Calculator for Women — with Waist Risk Assessment," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/bmi-women-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_bmi_women_calculator, title = {BMI Calculator for Women — with Waist Risk Assessment}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/bmi-women-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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