For Researchers on Obesity: Historical Review of Extra Body Weight Definitions

Table 4

International classification of adults based on body mass index.

Classification	BMI (kg/m^2)
	Cut-off points	Additional cut-off points
Underweight	<18.50	<18.5
Severe thinness	<16.00	<16.0
Moderate thinness	16.00–16.99	16.00–16.99
Mild thinness	17.00–18.49	17.00–18.49
Normal	18.50–24.99	18.50–22.99
		23.00–24.99
Overweight	≥25.00	≥25.00
Preobese	25.00–29.99	25.00–27.49
		27.50–29.99
Obese	≥30.00	≥30.00
Class I	30.00–34.99	30.00–32.49
		32.50–34.99
Class II	35.00–39.99	35.00–37.49
		37.50–39.99
Class III	≥40.00	≥40.00

Source: from WHO, 1995, WHO, 2000, and WHO, 2004 [15, 26, 29, 30].