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What's a healthy BMI and waist for Indians?

Check your BMI and waist against the Indian cut-offs, which are lower than the global ones.

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Height
How to measure your waist
  1. Stand straight, looking ahead. Doing it before breakfast is best.2
  2. Use a tape that doesn't stretch. Hold it level around your belly, just above your hip bones.2
  3. Read it at the end of a normal breath out. Don't pull your stomach in.2

This is the Indian method. The WHO measures halfway between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone instead.2

Sex (sets the waist cut-off)

Adult cut-offs 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 Indian and global cut-offs side by side.

Why we say this

  1. BMI is weight in kg divided by height in metres, squared.14
  2. 2009 Indian consensus (Misra et al., JAPI): a healthy BMI for Asian Indians is 18.0 to 22.9, 23 to 24.9 is overweight and 25 or more is obesity.1
  3. WHO global cut-offs: overweight is a BMI of 25 or more, obesity 30 or more.3 Under 18.5 is underweight.4
  4. India Obesity Commission 2025 (Misra et al.): a waist of 90 cm (35.4 inches) or more in men, or 80 cm (31.5 inches) or more in women, counts as excess belly fat.2
  5. Same paper: a waist-to-height ratio above 0.5 is the cut-off.2
  6. ESI 2025 obesity guideline: "The threshold of diagnosis of clinical obesity, or the threshold of intervention, is not based on BMI alone."6

Sources checked 5 Oct 2026. Full list below.

How this works

BMI (body mass index) is your weight in kg divided by your height in metres, squared.14 We compare it with two scales. The first is the Indian one, set by Indian experts in 2009. It calls a BMI of 23 to 24.9 overweight and 25 or more obesity.1 The second is the WHO global scale, where overweight starts at 25 and obesity at 30.3

Why two scales? Indians tend to carry more body fat, and more of it around the belly, at the same BMI as Europeans.1 A study of 1.5 million people in England found South Asians at a BMI of about 24 had the same diabetes risk as white people at 30.15

Your waist adds what BMI misses: belly fat. Indian experts use 90 cm (35.4 inches) for men and 80 cm (31.5 inches) for women.2 The waist-to-height ratio divides your waist by your height. Above 0.5 suggests too much belly fat.2

What it meansIndiaWHO global
OverweightBMI 23 to 24.91BMI 25 to 29.93
ObesityBMI 25 or more1BMI 30 or more3
Belly fat (waist)Men 90 cm (35.4 in)+, women 80 cm (31.5 in)+2Should suit age, sex and ethnicity7

A newer 2025 proposal from the India Obesity Commission counts any BMI above 23 as obesity. It then sorts people into Stage 1 or Stage 2 using waist size and health problems.2 This tool uses the 2009 cut-offs and mentions the proposal in your result.

What this can't tell you

  • How much of your weight is fat or muscle.8
  • Whether extra weight is already affecting your health. That needs a check-up, not a calculator.7
  • Anything about children or teens, or during pregnancy.9
  • Whether you need any treatment. India's obesity guideline (from the Endocrine Society of India, ESI) says that decision is not based on BMI alone.6

Questions people ask

Why is the BMI cut-off lower for Indians?

Indians tend to carry more body fat, and more belly fat, at the same BMI as Europeans.1 In 2004, a WHO expert group found many Asians already face high diabetes and heart risk below 25.13 So Indian experts set overweight at 23 and obesity at 25.1

Why does the NHS calculator use 27.5?

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) uses 23 and 27.5 for South Asians.12 These are WHO "action points" from 2004.13 Indian guidelines use 23 and 25.1 Both say risk starts below 25 for Indians.

My BMI is healthy but my waist is large. Does it matter?

Yes. Indian experts treat 90 cm (35.4 inches) (men) or 80 cm (31.5 inches) (women) as excess belly fat.2 India's ESI calls a normal BMI with too much body fat the "thin-fat phenotype". Studies found it in about 15 in 100 people in Chennai and 16 in 100 in Mumbai.6

Is BMI accurate if I'm muscular or older?

Not always. Muscular people can read as overweight.9 Older adults often lose muscle with age, and BMI can't separate muscle from fat.10,8 Your waist helps in both cases.

Does a high BMI mean I need a GLP-1 medicine?

No. BMI and waist describe risk. India's ESI says the point to start treatment is not based on BMI alone.6 Guide 3 covers all the options, from food and activity to medicines and surgery.

Can I use this for my child or teenager?

No. Adult cut-offs are for people aged 18 and over.9 For ages 5 to 18, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics publishes BMI charts.11

Weight and health for Indians Your options Should I consider a GLP-1? GLP-1 eligibility check Considering it for weight

Sources

  1. Misra A et al. Consensus statement for diagnosis of obesity, abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome for Asian Indians and recommendations for physical activity, medical and surgical management. J Assoc Physicians India 2009;57:163–70. PMID 19582986
  2. Misra A, Vikram NK, Ghosh A et al.; India Obesity Commission. Revised definition of obesity in Asian Indians living in India. Diabetes Metab Syndr 2025;19:102989. Declared interests: the lead author declares grants, lecture fees and travel from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, and from Indian makers including USV, Lupin, Cipla and Glenmark; a second author declares grants and lecture fees from Cipla, USV and Lupin (paper's own declaration). doi:10.1016/j.dsx.2024.102989 (restates the 2009 cut-offs; waist and waist-to-height cut-offs; waist method)
  3. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight (fact sheet). 8 December 2025. who.int
  4. World Health Organization. Global Health Observatory: Body mass index (indicator "Underweight among adults, BMI < 18.5"). Checked 5 Oct 2026. who.int
  5. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult BMI categories (healthy weight "18.5 to less than 25"). Updated 19 March 2024. cdc.gov
  6. Madhu SV, Kapoor N, Das S, Raizada N, Kalra S. ESI clinical practice guidelines for the evaluation and management of obesity in India: an update (2025). Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2025;29(4):355–65. doi:10.4103/ijem.ijem_680_25
  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; one also declares grants and lecture fees from Indian makers including USV, Lupin, Cipla, Glenmark and Zydus (paper's own declaration). doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(24)00316-4
  8. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About body mass index (BMI). Updated 16 December 2025. cdc.gov
  9. NHS (UK). BMI calculator for adults: who it is not suitable for. Page last reviewed 28 November 2023. nhs.uk
  10. 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
  11. Khadilkar VV et al. Revised Indian Academy of Pediatrics 2015 growth charts for height, weight and body mass index for 5–18-year-old Indian children. Indian J Endocrinol Metab 2015;19:470–6. doi:10.4103/2230-8210.159028
  12. NHS (UK). Obesity. Page last reviewed 29 April 2026. nhs.uk
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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

Last checked 5 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 a qualified doctor before starting, stopping or changing any treatment. How we write