BSA Calculator
What is the BSA Calculator?
The BSA Calculator allows you to quickly calculate your Body Surface Area (BSA), which is the total external surface area of the human body in square meters.
Why Calculate Body Surface Area?
It’s used to calculate the basal metabolic rate, modify drug doses, treat burns, and estimate how much fluid a person needs. Various areas of medicine depend on it, including toxicology, burn therapy, chemotherapy, and transplantology.
How to Use the BSA Calculator
Interested in how is BSA calculated? Using the Mosteller method, here’s a brief example:
Put the values about height and weight and press the calculate button; you can get your answer.
Enter Your Height: In centimeters. e.g: (170 cm)
Enter Your Weight: in kilograms. ( 60 kg)
Calculate: Get your BSA in meters instantly! The result is 1.7 m², the average BSA for an adult.
What is Body Surface Area (BSA)?
It’s an anthropometric (human body size and proportions) parameter used to estimate the total skin area of an individual.
What BSA Can Do?
BSA is widely used to assist healthcare providers in determining safe medication levels tailored to your unique body size.
BSA- Based Health Tips:
Using your BSA, get daily water, exercise, and nutrition recommendations to balance your metabolism.
Help doctor:
Instantly and securely share your results with your doctor or fitness instructor while using our calculator.
BSA for Pediatrics:
This pediatric formula-focused calculator is ideal for assessing BSA in children, making it versatile for family use.
Renal Function:
BSA defines GFR calculations and adjusts renal function measures per 1.73 m².
Cardiac Output:
Normalizing cardiac output by dividing it by BSA makes the cardiac index (heart performance relative to body size) more accurate than raw output values.
Chemotherapy Dosing:
Usually, chemotherapy doses are based on BSA to better match the needs of each patient.
Glucocorticoid Dosing:
With BSA, you can get a more precise dose for maintenance and high-dose glucocorticoid regimens.
Important Note
While our BSA calculator provides convenient, accurate calculations, it’s not a substitute for medical advice. Always discuss your health data with a healthcare professional.
BSA calculator formula
Researchers looked for easy ways to figure out body surface area until the 19th century and came up with several formulas. To make an accurate prediction of the dimensions of the body, there were a number of different formulas that were derived from height and weight measurements. In the past, the DuBois & DuBois formula was used the most. But now, Mosteller’s formula is more popular because it is easier to understand.
Here are a few variations of the BSA formula:
Du Bois formula:
BSA = 0.007184 × W0.425 × H0.725
Du Bois D, Du Bois EF (Jun 1916). “A formula to estimate the approximate surface area if height and weight be known”. Archives of Internal Medicine 17 (6): 863-71. PMID 2520314. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
Mosteller formula:
BSA = 0.016667 × W0.5 × H0.5
Mosteller RD. “Simplified calculation of body-surface area”. N Engl J Med 1987; 317:1098. PMID 3657876.
Haycock formula:
BSA = 0.024265 × W0.5378 × H0.3964
Haycock GB, Schwartz GJ, Wisotsky DH “Geometric method for measuring body surface area: A height-weight formula validated in infants, children and adults” J Pediatr 1978, 93:62-66.
Gehan and George formula:
BSA = 0.0235 × W0.51456 × H0.42246
Gehan EA, George SL, Cancer Chemother Rep 1970, 54:225-235
Boyd formula:
BSA = 0.03330 × W(0.6157 – 0.0188 × log10(W) × H0.3
Boyd, Edith (1935). The Growth of the Surface Area of the Human Body. University of Minnesota. The Institute of Child Welfare, Monograph Series, No. x. London: Oxford University Press
Fujimoto formula:
BSA = 0.008883 × W0.444 × H0.663
Fujimoto S, Watanabe T, Sakamoto A, Yukawa K, Morimoto K. Studies on the physical surface area of Japanese. 18. Calculation formulae in three stages over all ages. Nippon Eiseigaku Zasshi 1968;5:443-50.
Takahira formula:
BSA = 0.007241 × W0.425 × H0.725
Fujimoto S, Watanabe T, Sakamoto A, Yukawa K, Morimoto K. Studies on the physical surface area of Japanese. 18. Calculation formulae in three stages over all ages. Nippon Eiseigaku Zasshi 1968;5:443-50.
Schlich formula:
Women BSA = 0.000975482 × W0.46 × H1.08
Men BSA = 0.000579479 × W0.38 × H1.24
Schlich E, Schumm M, Schlich M: “3-D-Body-Scan als anthropometrisches Verfahren zur Bestimmung der spezifischen Korperoberflache”. Ernahrungs Umschau 2010;57:178-183
How to calculate BSA formula?
To calculate body surface area using Mosteller’s formula, you simply need to measure the height and weight of the individual. Once you have these measurements, enter them into BSA calculation formula that given below.
Mosteller formula
A lot of people suggest the Mosteller formula because it’s easy to apply and is common in clinical settings. Estimating Body Surface Area (BSA) with this formula is simple and accurate.
In this formula, height in cm and weight in kg, while BSA represent by meter per sec.
Age-based averge BSA graph
Boys and girls have similar values up to 14, as shown in the graph. Males have a mean BSA 10-15% higher than females due to differences in stature and weight.
| Age or age group | metric | imperial | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neonate (newborn) | 0.243 | m2 | 2.612 | ft2 |
| 2 years | 0.563 | m2 | 6.060 | ft2 |
| 5 years | 0.787 | m2 | 8.471 | ft2 |
| 10 years | 1.236 | m2 | 13.304 | ft2 |
| 13 years | 1.603 | m2 | 17.255 | ft2 |
| 18 years | 1.980 | m2 | 21.313 | ft2 |
| 20–79 years | 2.060 | m2 | 22.173 | ft2 |
| 80+ years | 1.920 | m2 | 20.667 | ft2 |
Age-based mean female BSA
| Age or age group | metric | imperial | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neonate (newborn) | 0.234 | m2 | 2.519 | ft2 |
| 2 years | 0.540 | m2 | 5.813 | ft2 |
| 5 years | 0.771 | m2 | 8.299 | ft2 |
| 10 years | 1.245 | m2 | 13.401 | ft2 |
| 13 years | 1.550 | m2 | 16.684 | ft2 |
| 18 years | 1.726 | m2 | 18.579 | ft2 |
| 20–79 years | 1.830 | m2 | 19.697 | ft2 |
| 80+ years | 1.638 | m2 | 17.631 | ft2 |
The following tables estimate weight and height using U.S. NCHS National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.(2011-2014)
Frequently Asked Questions:
How does BSA differ from BMI?
Body mass index (BMI) gives you a general idea of how much body fat you have, but body surface area (BSA) gives you more specific information about your metabolic needs.
Why are different BSA formulas used?
Each formula has a unique way of estimating body area, taking into account factors like age, weight, and height, which might vary across populations and medical requirements.
Does calculation BSA work for medication dosing?
BSA is often used to measure the dose of some medications, especially during chemotherapy, but you should always talk to your doctor or nurse to get personalized dosage advice.
