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Body Surface Area Calculator Guide
Estimate your body surface area (BSA) — the total surface area of your body in square meters. BSA is used in medicine for tasks like calculating certain medication doses, and this tool shows two standard formulas.
Mosteller: BSA = √[(height(cm) × weight(kg)) ÷ 3600]. Du Bois: BSA = 0.007184 × height(cm)^0.725 × weight(kg)^0.425.
How Is Body Surface Area Calculated?
Both formulas combine your height and weight. For someone 180 cm tall weighing 80 kg, BSA is about 2.0 m² by the Mosteller formula. The Mosteller version is popular because it's simple and easy to compute.
Why BSA Matters
Body surface area often reflects metabolic needs better than weight alone, which is why it's used for dosing some medications and for certain clinical calculations. Different formulas can give slightly different results, so the specific one used may matter in a medical setting.
This is a general estimate for information only, not medical or nutritional advice. Individual needs vary with health, goals, and other factors — talk to a doctor or registered dietitian for guidance specific to you.
Related: BMI Calculator, BMR Calculator, and Lean Body Mass.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is body surface area?
It's the total surface area of the human body, usually expressed in square meters and estimated from height and weight.
What is BSA used for?
It's used in medicine to calculate some drug doses and clinical measures that scale with body size.
Which BSA formula is best?
Mosteller is common for its simplicity; Du Bois is long-established. Results are similar for most people.
What is a typical BSA?
Average adult body surface area is roughly 1.7 m², varying with height and weight.
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