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Body mass index (BMI) is a medical screening tool that measures the ratio of your height to your weight to estimate the amount of body fat you have. Healthcare providers calculate BMI by using weight in kilograms (kg) divided by the square of height in meters (m2).

BMI is a screening tool used to identify individuals who have underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obesity.

The bottom line. As a single measure, BMI is clearly not a perfect measure of health. But it's still a useful starting point for important conditions that become more likely when a person is overweight or obese.

However, it's become controversial over the years because many critics find it inaccurate, exclusionary and outdated. Plenty of patients and experts alike agree that it's time for a change. Here's why your BMI may not matter after all and which health metrics you should pay attention to instead.

The AMA recommends clinicians use other measures for diagnosing obesity, including: Measurements of visceral fat. Body adiposity index. Body composition. Relative fat mass. Waist circumference and genetic/metabolic factors.

Under the newly adopted policy, the AMA recognizes issues with using BMI as a measurement due to its historical harm, its use for racist exclusion, and because BMI is based primarily on data collected from previous generations of non-Hispanic white populations.

With the metric system, the formula for BMI is weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Since height is commonly measured in centimeters, an alternate calculation formula, dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in centimeters squared, and then multiplying the result by 10,000, can be used.

If your BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, it falls within the Healthy Weight range. If your BMI is 25.0 to 29.9, it falls within the overweight range. If your BMI is 30.0 or higher, it falls within the obese range.

Below are some common methods for what to use instead of BMI and estimating body fat percentage: Tape measure. One of the most convenient ways to estimate body fat ratio is with a tape measure. ... Calipers. ... Weight scales. ... Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).

Factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, and muscle mass can influence the relationship between BMI and body fat. Also, BMI does not distinguish between excess fat, muscle, or bone mass, nor does it provide any indication of the distribution of fat among individuals.