EXCEL Bulk BMI Calculator

Instructions for EXCEL BMI Calculator

Click here to download EXCEL BMI Calculator (English Version)

Click here to download EXCEL BMI Calculator (Metric Version)

To allow all the features of this calculator to work, please click “Enable Macros” if prompted. You must close then reopen this spreadsheet if you originally selected “Disable Macros.”
1. This spreadsheet has 3 worksheets, entitled “INSTRUCTIONS,” “MEASUREMENTS,” and “GROUP SUMMARY.”  You can move to each of these using the tabs at the bottom of the screen.  The “MEASUREMENTS” worksheet is where children’s measurements can be added and the BMI calculations are done.  The “GROUP SUMMARY” worksheet summarizes the prevalence of obesity and overweight for all children who had valid measurements.
2. Information on birth date, date measured, sex, height, and weight must be entered into the box on the MEASUREMENTS worksheet.  See the example at the bottom of these instructions.
3. Each child’s sex should be entered as “M”  to indicate male or “F” to indicate female. This field is not case sensitive.
4. Each child’s birth date should be entered, using month/day/year format.  For example, July 17, 1996, would be entered as 7/17/1996.
5. Each child’s date of measurement should be entered, using month/day/year format.  For example, October 5, 2007, would be entered as 10/5/2007. The child’s age must be less than 20 years. The BMI calculations contained in this spreadsheet are not meant to be used with adults 20 years of age and older.
6. Height can be entered in feet and inches.  Feet can be omitted if the full number of inches is included.  For example, 4 feet, 3 1/4 inches may be entered as either a “4” in the “Feet” column and a “3.25” in the “Inches” column, or may be entered with the “Feet” column blank and a “51.25” in the “Inches” column.
7. Weight should be entered in pounds, with fractions of pounds entered as decimals.  For example, 56 3/4 pounds would be entered as “56.75.”
8. The columns for ID and Name are optional and are not used in any calculations.
9. Printing instructions: In Excel 2007, after you click the Microsoft button        on the upper left-hand corner, click the [Print] option.  In Excel 2003, you can click the Print icon        from the toolbar or select [File] and then the [Print] option.  When you print, the first 40 rows on the spreadsheet will print by default.  If you need to print more rows than 40, you should define a new print area.  You can do this by selecting the cells that you want to print.  After you click to print, select the radio button labeled [Selection] from the print dialogue and not the Active Sheet or Workbook radio button options.
10. Additional columns may be inserted as needed before column J.  For example, a column might be added for child’s last name to be separate from first name. Columns to the right of, and including, column J, are reserved for calculations. These columns should not be altered or deleted. Before columns can be inserted the worksheet must be unprotected. To do this in Excel 2003, click on the [Tools] option from the Excel menu at the top of the window and then click on [Protection] then [Unprotect Sheet].  In Excel 2007, click [Review] from the top menu and then the [Unprotect Sheet] icon.
11. Calculation of BMI-for-age percentiles is displayed only when valid results can be found.  If age cannot be calculated or if the age is less than 2 years or 20 years or greater, “Age error” is displayed.  If the height or weight is higher or lower than is considered biologically possible, “Ht or wt error” is displayed.  If the sex is not specified as described above “Sex error” is displayed.  Children with errors are not included in the summary calculations on the GROUP SUMMARY page.
12. All worksheets have been protected to avoid accidental changes that would create mistakes.  If you need to make changes to the worksheets in Excel 2003, they can be unprotected by choosing [Tools] – [Protection] – [Unprotect Sheet] from the Excel menu.  In Excel 2007, click [Review] and then the [Unprotect Sheet] icon from the menu.  This should only be done by experienced Excel users and extreme caution should be used to avoid modifying the formulas in the cells in columns J and K.
13. The spreadsheet is designed to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles for up to 2,000 children.