BMI Calculator for Physiotherapy

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a key measurement in physiotherapy assessment used for exercise prescription, rehabilitation planning, and cardiovascular risk assessment.

Clinical Applications

• Screening for underweight, overweight, and obesity in new physiotherapy patients
• Guiding exercise intensity and load prescription — higher BMI often requires modified weight-bearing protocols
• Cardiovascular risk stratification before initiating graded exercise programmes
• Monitoring body composition trends alongside functional outcomes in long-term rehabilitation

How to Interpret Results

• BMI is a population-level screening tool, not a direct measure of body fat — results should be interpreted alongside clinical history and functional assessment
• Muscle mass can elevate BMI in athletic populations without increased health risk; pair with waist circumference or body fat percentage for accuracy
• Asian populations may have higher cardiovascular risk at BMI thresholds lower than the standard WHO categories — consider ethnicity-adjusted cut-offs

1. 1.WHO Expert Consultation (2004). Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet, 363(9403), 157–163.
2. 2.Nuttall FQ (2015). Body Mass Index: Obesity, BMI, and Health: A Critical Review. Nutrition Today, 50(3), 117–128.
3. 3.Janssen I, Katzmarzyk PT, Ross R (2002). Body mass index, waist circumference, and health risk. Archives of Internal Medicine, 162(18), 2074–2079.