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What's a healthy BMI and waist in Canada?

Check your BMI and waist against the Canadian adult obesity guideline, including the lower cut-offs Obesity Canada recommends for Asian adults.

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Height
How to measure your waist
  1. Find the bottom of your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone. Put the tape around your waist halfway between them.4
  2. Keep the tape level and snug, but not digging into your skin.4
  3. Breathe normally, and read it after you breathe out.4
Sex (sets the waist cut-off)
Ethnic background (sets which cut-offs apply)

Adult ranges are for ages 18 and over.

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Your result

--.-BMI

Add your height and weight to see your result.

Your BMI will show on the scale above, with the standard and Asian cut-offs side by side.

Why we say this

  1. BMI is weight in kg divided by height in metres, squared.9
  2. Obesity Canada, standard cut-offs: healthy 18.5 to 24.9, overweight 25 to 29.9, obesity 30 or more (class II from 35, class III from 40).1
  3. Obesity Canada, Asian cut-offs for South Asian, Southeast Asian or East Asian adults: healthy 18.5 to 22.9, overweight at risk 23 to 24.9, moderate risk 25 to 29.9, severe risk 30 or more.1
  4. Waist: increased risk from 102 cm in men and 88 cm in women; for South, Southeast or East Asian adults, from 85 cm in men and 75 cm in women.1

Sources checked 12 Oct 2026. Full list below.

How this works

BMI (body mass index) is your weight in kg divided by your height in metres, squared.9 You can type feet and inches, or pounds; we turn them into cm and kg first (1 inch = 2.54 cm, 1 pound = 0.4536 kg).

We compare your BMI with the ranges in the Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline from Obesity Canada.10,1 It has a standard table and an Asian table. The standard table calls a BMI of 25 to 29.9 overweight and 30 or more obesity. For adults of South Asian, Southeast Asian or East Asian ethnicity, overweight starts at 23, with 25 to 29.9 at moderate risk and 30 or more at severe risk.1

Why two tables? BMI over- or underestimates body fat in some groups, and weight-related illness starts at a lower BMI in Asian adults.1 A study of 1.5 million people in England found South Asian adults at a BMI of about 24 had the same type 2 diabetes risk as white adults at 30,5 and a WHO expert group found in 2004 that many Asian people face higher diabetes and heart risk below a BMI of 25.6 South Asians are the largest racialized group in Canada, about 2.6 million people in 2021.2

Your waist adds what BMI misses: fat around the middle. The guideline's waist cut-offs differ for women and men, and are lower for Asian adults, so we ask both.1 The guideline also lists waist values for other groups; ask your doctor which applies to you.

What it meansStandardSouth, Southeast, East Asian
HealthyBMI 18.5 to 24.91BMI 18.5 to 22.91
OverweightBMI 25 to 29.91BMI 23 to 24.9, at risk1
Higher rangesBMI 30 or more: obesity1BMI 25 to 29.9 moderate risk, 30 or more severe risk1
Waist, women88 cm or more175 cm or more1
Waist, men102 cm or more185 cm or more1

What this can't tell you

  • How much of your weight is fat or muscle.3
  • Whether extra weight is already affecting your health. That needs a check-up, not a calculator.7
  • Anything about children or teenagers, or during pregnancy.3
  • Whether you need any treatment. A doctor or nurse practitioner looks at your whole health and decides with you.10

Questions people ask

Why does Obesity Canada use lower cut-offs for some Canadians?

BMI over- or underestimates body fat in some groups, such as Indigenous Peoples, South Asians and Chinese people. Obesity Canada recommends lower BMI and waist cut-offs for adults of South Asian, Southeast Asian or East Asian ethnicity.1 A study of 1.5 million people in England found South Asian adults at a BMI of about 24 had the same type 2 diabetes risk as white adults at 30.5

What are the Asian cut-offs?

For adults of South Asian, Southeast Asian or East Asian ethnicity, overweight starts at a BMI of 23. The table calls 23 to 24.9 at risk, 25 to 29.9 moderate risk and 30 or more severe risk. The waist cut-offs are 85 cm or more for men and 75 cm or more for women.1

What waist size is healthy?

In Canada, a waist of 102 cm or more in men, or 88 cm or more in women, means increased risk. For South Asian, Southeast Asian or East Asian adults the cut-offs are lower: 85 cm for men and 75 cm for women.1

Is BMI accurate if I'm muscular or older?

Not always. BMI can't tell fat from muscle.3 Muscular people can read as overweight, and older adults who have lost muscle can have a BMI that hides extra fat.8,3 Your waist helps in both cases.

Does a high BMI mean I need a weight-loss medicine?

No. BMI and waist describe health risk, and Health Canada recommends that obesity not be diagnosed on BMI alone.1 The Canadian adult obesity guideline also looks at waist size and weight-related health problems.10 A doctor or nurse practitioner decides after looking at your whole health. Guide 3 covers all the options.

Can I use this for my child or teenager?

No. Adult BMI ranges are for people aged 18 and over. For children and teenagers, BMI is compared with growth charts for their age and sex.3 A doctor can plot the result.

Weight and health Your options GLP-1 check: the labels and the guideline Canadian obesity guidelines explained South Asian Canadians and GLP-1s Considering it for weight

Sources

  1. Obesity Canada. Canadian Adult Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline: Assessment of people living with obesity, Version 1, 4 August 2020: Table 1 (BMI classes, standard and South, Southeast or East Asian) and Table 2 (waist circumference cut-offs); "Health Canada recommends the diagnosis of obesity not be based on BMI alone". obesitycanada.ca
  2. Statistics Canada. South Asians in Canada (89-657-X2025007): the largest racialized group, 2.57 million people, 7.1% of the population in 2021. statcan.gc.ca
  3. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About body mass index (BMI): what BMI can and can't show, and BMI-for-age charts for children and teens. Updated 16 December 2025. cdc.gov
  4. World Cancer Research Fund. How to measure your waist. Checked 12 Oct 2026. wcrf.org
  5. Caleyachetty R et al. Ethnicity-specific BMI cutoffs for obesity based on type 2 diabetes risk in England: a population-based cohort study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2021;9:419–26. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00088-7
  6. WHO Expert Consultation. Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 2004;363:157–63. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)15268-3
  7. Rubino F et al. Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity (Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission). Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 2025;13:221–62. Declared interests: most of the 56 authors declare payments from Novo Nordisk, and many also from Eli Lilly (paper's own declaration). doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00316-4
  8. Batsis JA, Villareal DT. Sarcopenic obesity in older adults: aetiology, epidemiology and treatment strategies. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2018;14:513–37. doi:10.1038/s41574-018-0062-9
  9. Knowler WC et al.; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002;346:393–403 (defines BMI as kg divided by metres squared). doi:10.1056/NEJMoa012512
  10. Wharton S et al. Obesity in adults: a clinical practice guideline. CMAJ 2020;192:E875–91 (Obesity Canada and the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons). doi:10.1503/cmaj.191707

Last checked 12 Oct 2026 · Next review due Jan 2027

How this tool was made. Built by the GLP Guidebook team from the sources above. It's general information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner before starting, stopping or changing any treatment. In an emergency, call 9-1-1. How we write