The listing below show you how BMI indicates your weight status

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5 to 24.9
• Overweight = 25 to 29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

How reliable is BMI as an indicator of body fatness?

According to Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC)

The correlation between the BMI number and body fatness is fairly strong; however the correlation varies by sex, race, and age. These variations include the following examples:

• At the same BMI, women tend to have more body fat than men.
• At the same BMI, older people, on average, tend to have more body fat than younger adults.
• Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of increased muscularity rather than increased body fatness.
• It is also important to remember that BMI is only one factor related to risk for disease.

For assessing someone's likelihood of developing overweight- or obesity-related diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines recommend looking at two other predictors:

The individual's waist circumference (because abdominal fat is a predictor of risk for obesity-related diseases). Other risk factors the individual has for diseases and conditions associated with obesity (for example, high blood pressure or physical inactivity).