M+QuickMedCalc
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General MedicineAnthropometry

Adult Anthropometry Workspace

Enter one adult measurement record to calculate supported BMI, BSA, FFM/FFMI, WHtR, WHR, BRI, ABSI, BAI, and RFM outputs with explicit measurement-protocol provenance.

Content updated: View sources

QuickMedCalc is developed and maintained by an independent developer. Medical content is not independently reviewed by a physician.

Formula and medical content are based on the references listed on this page. See sources, About, and Sources and Review Process.

Enter the measurements you actually have from one adult session. Optional fields unlock additional named models. Missing values remain missing; protocol compatibility and reference availability are reported separately from arithmetic.
1. Entry units and standing height

Changing systems clears the record instead of relabeling existing numbers.

Required for height-based models. Enter centimeters.

2. Measurements available

Used by BMI, BSA, Boer FFM/FFMI, and ABSI.

Used only with the protocol selected below. Do not substitute navel, narrowest-waist, midpoint, or iliac-crest sites silently.

Required when a waist is entered. This choice controls source-comparability labels, not the raw arithmetic formula.

Used by WHR and BAI; it is never substituted for waist.

Required when hip circumference is entered.

3. Optional model inputs

Required only for BSA. The workspace compares all three after you explicitly select the primary formula; it does not rank them.

Optional. Used only by Boer FFM, adult RFM, and an eligible ABSI reference row; it is never inferred.

Adult RFM accepts 20–85. ABSI NHANES reference rows cover ages 18–84 plus the published 85+ sample row. Age does not enter raw ABSI or RFM arithmetic.

Supported model outputs

Submit the record to see calculated and unavailable model states. A blank record produces no manufactured values.

About

This workspace accepts one adult body-measurement session and returns only the named anthropometric models supported by the measurements and model inputs actually entered. It does not estimate missing height, weight, waist, hip, age, or published coefficient.

BMI and BSA describe weight–height or surface-area constructs; FFM/FFMI are Boer estimates; WHtR, WHR, BRI, ABSI, BAI, and RFM are distinct waist-, hip-, or shape-related models. They are not interchangeable and are never combined into a proprietary score, diagnosis, or treatment recommendation.

Waist provenance is retained because the WHO/NICE midpoint and NHANES iliac-crest landmarks are different. Raw arithmetic can sometimes be calculated from another or unknown site, but source/reference comparability is then withheld. [7, 8]

Formula

BMI, BSA, and Boer FFM/FFMI each call their existing validated model runtime; the selected BSA formula and published sex coefficient remain explicit. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
WHtR and WHR are ratios. BRI, ABSI, and RFM call their original model runtimes using the entered waist value while separately reporting whether the recorded waist protocol matches the model/reference source. [6, 7, 9, 10, 13]
BAI uses standing height and hip circumference; WHR uses waist and hip. A hip value is never substituted for waist, and neither result is a direct scan or diagnosis. [7, 12]

Interpretation

Measurement-protocol matrix

Recorded siteSource-matched contextOther models
WHO/NICE midpoint waistWHtR and WHO WHR contextBRI, ABSI, and RFM may return raw arithmetic, labeled arithmetic-only rather than NHANES-comparable.
NHANES iliac-crest waistThomas BRI, original ABSI/NHANES, and adult RFM contextWHtR and WHR may return raw ratios, but no WHO/NICE midpoint comparability is claimed.
Other / unknown waistNo named source comparisonOnly raw arithmetic that the existing model runtime can safely support.

WHO measures waist at the midpoint between the lowest palpable rib and iliac crest and hip at the widest buttock circumference. NHANES marks just above the uppermost lateral border of the right ilium. The workspace never converts one landmark into another. [7, 8]

Interpret each model separately

BMI retains the CDC adult screening category; BSA has no normal category; FFM/FFMI, BRI, ABSI, BAI, and RFM remain model estimates or indices rather than direct body-composition measurements. WHtR and WHR keep their source-specific population context without producing an individualized disease probability. [1, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13]

One record, not nine hidden forms

Height, weight, waist, and hip are each entered once. Age, one published male/female coefficient branch, and a BSA formula are optional model inputs. Every result states which measurements and protocol it used; unavailable cards explain the missing dependency.

Privacy and boundaries

The record is ephemeral browser state. Measurements and results are not added to the URL, browser storage, an account, or a QuickMedCalc backend. Reloading starts with a blank record. No model vote, overall body score, diagnosis, target, treatment, or tracking history is created.

References

  1. CDC. Adult BMI Calculator and Adult BMI Categories. Adult BMI is a screening measure for people age 20 and older.
  2. Mosteller RD. Simplified calculation of body-surface area. N Engl J Med. 1987;317(17):1098. PMID 3657876.
  3. Du Bois D, Du Bois EF. A formula to estimate the approximate surface area if height and weight be known. Arch Intern Med. 1916;17:863–871.
  4. Haycock GB, Schwartz GJ, Wisotsky DH. Geometric method for measuring body surface area. J Pediatr. 1978;93(1):62–66. PMID 650346.
  5. Boer P. Estimated lean body mass as an index for normalization of body fluid volumes in humans. Am J Physiol. 1984;247:F632–F636. PMID 6496691.
  6. NICE. Overweight and obesity management (NG246): identifying and assessing overweight, obesity and central adiposity. Current recommendations and applicability limits.
  7. World Health Organization. Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio: Report of a WHO Expert Consultation. Published 2011. ISBN 9789241501491.
  8. CDC/NCHS. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: 2021 Anthropometry Procedures Manual.
  9. Thomas DM, Bredlau C, Bosy-Westphal A, et al. Relationships between body roundness with body fat and visceral adipose tissue emerging from a new geometrical model. Obesity. 2013;21:2264–2271. PMID 23519954.
  10. Krakauer NY, Krakauer JC. A new body shape index predicts mortality hazard independently of body mass index. PLoS One. 2012;7:e39504. PMID 22815707.
  11. Krakauer NY, Krakauer JC. Supplementary Table S1: NHANES 1999–2004 age- and sex-specific ABSI reference means and standard deviations.
  12. Bergman RN, Stefanovski D, Buchanan TA, et al. A Better Index of Body Adiposity. Obesity. 2011;19:1083–1089. PMID 21372804.
  13. Woolcott OO, Bergman RN. Relative fat mass as a new estimator of whole-body fat percentage. Sci Rep. 2018;8:10980. PMID 30030479.
  14. NIST. SI Units—Length. The international inch is exactly 2.54 centimeters.

FAQ

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Disclaimer

Educational and informational reference only. Not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or independent verification.