When is considered overweight

Talk with your healthcare provider to determine appropriate ways to lose weight. For information about the importance of a healthy diet and physical activity in reaching a healthy weight, visit Healthy Weight.

A widget is an application that can be used by partners to display featured content directly on their desktops, websites, or social media.

Widgets can also be shared with friends. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most people. It is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. Including this widget on your application will allow people to calculate their BMI and see the corresponding weight category.

It also provides information on what BMI is. Please upgrade to web browser that supports iframes to see this CDC widget. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate.

Adult BMI Calculator. Minus Related Pages. Height: Feet. This is because the normal amount of body fat changes with age in children and teens, and is different between boys and girls. The percentiles are then used to determine the different weight groups:. Even in a young person, being overweight or obese can cause health problems.

And it may directly increase the risk for certain health problems later in life, including some kinds of cancer. It also increases the chances of being overweight or obese as an adult, as well as the risk of health problems that can come with this. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.

The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances.

The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Skip to main content. Health checks. Home Health checks. Body mass index BMI. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. What is a healthy BMI range for children? Being overweight or underweight can affect your health Risks of being overweight high BMI and physically inactive Risks of being underweight low BMI Waist circumference is a better indicator of increased disease risk Waist circumference and health risks Where to get help.

Mooney SJ, Baecker A, Rundle AG , ' Comparison of anthropometric and body composition measures as predictors of components of the metabolic syndrome in a clinical setting ', Obesity Research and Clinical Practice, vol 7, no. Give feedback about this page. Was this page helpful? Yes No. View all health checks. Related information.