Where are you on the global scale?

What is this?

This site is a recreation of the BBC’s “Global Fat Scale.” After entering your personal statistics you’ll be able to see how your BMI compares to both other people living in your country, and the rest of the world.

Seeing your results improve over time as you lose weight is extremely satisfying, but unfortunately the BBC’s site no longer works.

What is BMI?

BMI is calculated by dividing your height in meters by your weight in kilograms, and it can give you an idea of whether you are underweight, overweight, or at a healthy weight.

For most people BMI gives a fairly accurate estimate, but it’s a simple measure that doesn’t take into account all of your personal circumstances. If you are concerned about your weight, you should speak with your health professional about it.

This website is not a tool for diagnosing health issues.

Where does the calculator’s data come from?

This calculator uses the same dataset as the original global fat scale site. According to the BBC, this is a combination of:

• Data compiled by a team of researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
• Data from the UN on countries’ population size.
• Estimates of global weight from the WHO.
• Mean heights from national health examination surveys.

Note that the original data was compiled in 2012, so the results of this calculator should be taken with a grain of salt. The average weight around the world has almost certainly changed since then.

The link to the WHO’s estimates of global weight is now dead, and I couldn’t find more up-to-date data. If you know of a newer dataset, please feel free to email me as I’d love to update the calculator with fresh data.