BMI Calculator

Asian BMI Chart

Every national cut-point on one page — because they do not agree with each other, and the differences matter.

There is no single Asian BMI chart. Asian populations broadly share an overweight line at BMI 23.0, but the obesity line ranges from 25.0 (Hong Kong, Korea, India, and the WHO Asia-Pacific scale) to 27.5 (Singapore, and the ADA 2026 standard for Asian populations) to 28.0 (mainland China). Japan has no overweight band at all — it defines obesity directly from 25.0. The WHO's own international chart still uses 25.0 / 30.0.

At a glance, on one axis

Each bar is one standard, drawn on the same 15–35 BMI axis. The dashed lines are 23 and 25. Once you see them stacked, the claim that there is a single "Asian BMI scale" stops making sense.

WHO international (global)25.0 / 30.0
WHO Expert Consultation 2004 (Asian populations)23.0 / 27.5
WHO Asia-Pacific (WPRO / IASO / IOTF)23.0 / 25.0
China24.0 / 28.0
Hong Kong, China23.0 / 25.0
Singapore23.0 / 27.5
Japan— / 25.0
South Korea23.0 / 25.0
India and South Asia23.0 / 25.0
UK NICE guidance — Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Black African/Caribbean adults23.0 / 27.5
ADA 2026 standard for Asian populations23.0 / 27.5
152023253035

Dashed lines mark 23 and 25 — the two numbers this whole topic turns on. Green is the normal range, amber underweight, orange overweight / raised risk, red obesity / high risk.

Full cut-point table

BMI overweight and obesity cut-points by country and authority
StandardNormal rangeOverweight fromObesity fromWaist / central obesitySource
WHO international (global)World Health Organization18.5 – 24.925.030.0—Primary source
WHO Expert Consultation 2004 (Asian populations)World Health Organization expert consultation, published in The Lancet18.5 – 22.923.027.5—Primary source
WHO Asia-Pacific (WPRO / IASO / IOTF)WHO Western Pacific Regional Office, International Association for the Study of Obesity, International Obesity Task Force18.5 – 22.923.025.0—Primary source
ChinaNational Health Commission of the PRC — health industry standard WS/T 42818.5 – 23.924.028.0M ≥90cm / W ≥85cmPrimary source
Hong Kong, ChinaDepartment of Health, Centre for Health Protection — adopting the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office classification for Asian adults18.5 – < 23.023.025.0WHtR < 0.5Primary source
SingaporeHealth Promotion Board (HPB), Ministry of Health18.5 – 22.923.027.5M ≥90cm / W ≥80cmPrimary source
JapanJapan Society for the Study of Obesity (JASSO)18.5 – 24.9—25.0M ≥85cm / W ≥90cmPrimary source
South KoreaKorean Society for the Study of Obesity (KSSO)18.5 – 22.923.025.0M ≥90cm / W ≥85cmPrimary source
India and South AsiaConsensus statement for Asian Indians (Misra et al., JAPI 2009); Indian Council of Medical Research18.0 – 22.923.025.0M ≥90cm / W ≥80cmPrimary source
UK NICE guidance — Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and Black African/Caribbean adultsNational Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK), guideline NG24618.5 – 22.923.027.5WHtR < 0.5Primary source
ADA 2026 standard for Asian populationsAmerican Diabetes Association — Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026, adult overweight and obesity18.5 – 22.923.027.5M ≥90cm / W ≥80cmPrimary source

All 11 standards shown, each read from the issuing authority's own document (linked per row). The WHO 2004 figures of 23.0 / 27.5 are public-health action points, not a redefinition of the international categories.

Why 23 / 25, 23 / 27.5 and 24 / 28 all coexist

All three come from the same underlying finding and three different policy responses to it. The WHO 2004 expert consultation established that risk in Asian populations rises well below BMI 25, but declined to redefine the international categories. Instead it published public-health action points at 23.0, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5 kg/m² along the BMI continuum.

From that point, countries made their own calls. The WHO Asia-Pacific document of 2000 produced a usable regional classification at 23 / 25, and Hong Kong and Korea adopted it. Singapore kept 23 as its moderate-risk line but escalated only at 27.5 — the WHO high-risk action point — giving a three-band risk ladder instead of a weight-status table. Mainland China derived its own numbers from national cohort data and landed on 24 and 28, the loosest pair on this page. Japan took the opposite approach and deleted the overweight tier entirely, defining obesity from 25 because that is where the average number of obesity-related disorders exceeds one in Japanese cohorts.

None of these is a mistake, and none is a rounding of another. They answer different questions with different evidence, and the honest chart has to show all of them.

Reading the chart without getting it wrong

  • Name the standard before the number. "BMI 26" means nothing on its own — it is obese I in Korea and Hong Kong, overweight in mainland China, moderate risk in Singapore, and obesity class 1 in Japan.
  • 23 is a screening trigger, not a diagnosis. Every authority here uses it to decide who gets checked, not to label anyone. Treating it as an obesity line is the single most common error in this topic.
  • Never apply an adult chart to a child. Children and adolescents are assessed against age- and sex-specific percentile curves. There is no fixed adult cut-point that works for them.
  • Pregnancy changes everything. Antenatal assessment uses gestational weight-gain ranges derived from pre-pregnancy BMI, not adult BMI categories.
  • Waist beats BMI for Asian populations. The ADA 2026 standards note BMI's sensitivity for obesity is only around 50%. Waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio catch the people BMI misses — and the normal-weight, high-visceral-fat pattern is more common in Asian populations than in European ones.

Check your own number

Pick your country's standard below and the calculator shows both classifications at once — your selected scale and the WHO international baseline — so you can see exactly where they part ways.

Asian BMI Calculator

One calculation, two classifications: your selected Asian scale and the WHO international standard, with the gap shown.
cm
kg
cm

Measure at the midpoint between your lowest rib and the top of your hip bone, on a normal breath out. Needed to assess central obesity and waist-to-height ratio.

Comparison baseline: WHO international (global)

This calculator covers 11 published standards: WHO international, the WHO 2004 Asian action points, WHO Asia-Pacific, China's WS/T 428, Hong Kong Department of Health, Singapore HPB, Japan JASSO, Korea KSSO, the Misra Indian consensus and ADA 2026. BMI is a screening tool, not a diagnosis.

Country and region detail pages

Frequently asked questions

Why do Asian BMI charts disagree with each other?
Most of them stop at "Asia uses 23 and 27.5" and never check a national source. In reality China uses 24 and 28, Hong Kong and Korea use 23 and 25, Japan uses 25 with no overweight band, Singapore and India use 23 with obesity at 27.5 and 25 respectively, and the ADA 2026 standard uses 23 and 27.5 for Asian populations.
Where does the 23 / 27.5 figure come from?
From the WHO 2004 expert consultation, which identified 23.0, 27.5, 32.5 and 37.5 kg/m² as public-health action points along the BMI continuum. It retained 25 and 30 as the international overweight and obesity definitions — the action points were never a redefinition.
Which chart should I use if my country is not listed?
Use the WHO Asia-Pacific scale (overweight from 23.0, obesity from 25.0) as the default for Asian populations, and treat the WHO international scale as a comparison baseline. If your local health service publishes its own numbers, those take precedence.
Does the chart change for children or pregnant women?
Yes, and adult charts must not be applied to either. Children and adolescents are assessed against age- and sex-specific percentile curves, not fixed adult cut-points. Pregnancy is assessed with gestational weight-gain ranges based on pre-pregnancy BMI.

Data sources and how we verify them

Every cut-point, band and formula on this page is taken from the issuing authority's own document, listed below. We do not use second-hand summaries, and we do not fill gaps with numbers no source states.

Cut-points are population-level statistical thresholds, not individual diagnoses. If your value sits near a category line, measure your waist as well and read it alongside body-fat percentage. Last checked: 2026-09-15.

Sources

  1. WHO Expert Consultation — Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations (Lancet 2004;363:157–163)
  2. WHO / IASO / IOTF — The Asia-Pacific Perspective: Redefining Obesity and Its Treatment (2000)
  3. National Health Commission of the PRC — WS/T 428
  4. Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection — Population Health Survey 2020-22, Part II
  5. Singapore Health Promotion Board — Know Your BMI, Know Your Risk
  6. JASSO — 肥満度分類
  7. KSSO — Diagnosis of Obesity, 2022 guideline update
  8. Misra et al. — Consensus Statement for Asian Indians (JAPI 2009)
  9. ADA Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026 — adult overweight and obesity

Every figure above was checked against the original document. This page is general information, not medical advice.

Other countries and regions

ChinaHong Kong, ChinaSingaporeJapanSouth KoreaIndia and South AsiaAsian BMI chartWaist-to-height ratio

Health Information Disclaimer

Content on this site is for general information only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a doctor or qualified health professional for personal health concerns. Last updated: August 9, 2026.

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