How much does the "new BMI" say you should weigh?
This tool uses the "new BMI" from an Oxford guy whose provided calculator needed some TLC.
I don't really care what my BMI is, I just want to know the range of weights for my height. Weirdly challenging to find that easily online. And now here it is!
OK now cue all the stuff that's wrong about BMI:
What's wrong with Body Mass Index calculators?
One number isn't enough to evaluate the health of individuals; merely a guideline. Body fat percentage and waist size are better individual indicators of a healthy weight. You don't have to be in the Normal BMI range to be healthy, but being in this range for your height is generally healthy.
How did I make this tool?
After reading that BMI is based on average heights and weights that haven't been updated since the 1840s, I started by collecting some data on average heights back then vs today. Fun fact, men have grown about 4cm on average according to the data I pulled from World of Data. But that's just men, and it didn't really matter once I found the better Oxford calculation.
Then I used Gemini Flash 2.0 via Google's AI Studio to put this calculator together. I started with clear requirements followed by lots of tweaking. I would frequently restart chats to get a "fresh start" unencumbered by prompt context. Then I tested via lots of copy/pasting into codepen.io. Once the functionality was squared away, I followed up with lots of testing via copy/pasting into this blog and making sure the colors, styling, etc. worked well with this blog's theme.
It took a little longer than I expected, about a solid couple hours. Still faster than doing it from scratch by hand!
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