Diagnosis of anorexia and bulimia eating disorders is best done by a medical doctor and an experienced therapist. Due to our customers' interest in having a non-invasive method to evaluate the possible health risk associated with an eating disorder (especially anorexia), we provide an automatic body mass index (BMI) calculation process and related Health Risk Table below. Bulimia will be extremely difficult to detect by this method, and therefore, the persistence of binge-purging behavior will provide a better indication of this disorder. If you think you may have anorexia and you are not thinking clearly, please have a best friend or spouse help you calculate your BMI results. Although such BMI results apply to healthy people as well, we provide them here more to detect the degree of possibility for having anorexia. Even though we don't want people to spend money on medical care unless absolutely necessary, we know that prompt medical treatment (primarily with anorexics) can save valuable lives. Also, eating disorders (especially anorexia) are most effectively treated early in their developments. Without early detection, eating disorders (particularly anorexia) sufferers may experience much longer and more difficult recovery that can result in even more suffering and expense. Many anorexics have lengthy treatment histories primarily because they did not get early treatment for their anorexia. Once eating disorders (especially anorexia) have become psychologically ingrained (or habitual), they are much more difficult to treat. If you experience persistent starvation, binging, and/or purging, you should seek medical and therapeutic help regardless of the results. Note that our Spark of Life Trilogy clearly explains both anorexia and bulimia and provides a dynamic new therapy for treating these eating disorders.

BMI Calculation

    The following automatic calculation process requires that you use your weight in pounds and your barefoot height in feet and inches. Please round weight and height in inches to the nearest whole number (e.g., 82.25 lbs. = 82 and 5.5 inches = 6). For height in inches, a number must be entered even if it is zero for the computation to work properly. After you enter these three whole numbers in the appropriate boxes below, press the Calculate button to compute your BMI instantly. Please round your BMI to the nearest hundreth (e.g., 15.5245 = 15.52 and 16.6552 = 16.66) before comparing its value in the table below. For example, a barefoot 5 feet 1 inch person weighing 82 lbs. has a BMI of 15.51, which matches the very high health risk range in the Health Risk Table below showing that this person is probably anorexic and should see a medical doctor. If "NaN" appears as your BMI, read over these instructions again and reenter your input as required.

Health Risk Table

    The following BMI health risk table should be used only as a cautionary indication of need for medical evaluation. If your calculation results match red colored (or boldface) table data, then you should see a medical doctor. If you engage in starvation, binging, and/or purging, these activities strongly confirm your need for immediate medical and therapeutic help. Please realize that there is no perfect way to mathematically compute a real need for medical and therapeutic assistance. When in doubt, you should always see at least a medical doctor.

Health Risk According to Body Mass Index (BMI)

BMI	Health Risk
below 17.00	Very High (Probably Anorexic)
17.00 to 18.49	High (Possibly Anorexic)
18.50 to 19.99	Moderate
20.00 to 24.99	Low
25.00 to 29.99	Moderate
30.00 to 34.99	High (Possibly Obese)
35.00 or above	Very High (Probably Obese)