A person’s body mass index is a number calculated based on their height and weight. It is used for a comparative analysis of people with similar heights. The body mass index is a brainchild of a Belgian statistician and mathematician named Adolphe Quatelet who created the BMI sometime from1830 to 1850. To calculate the BMI, divide the person’s weight in kilograms by their height in meters squared.
The Body Mass Index has been in use as a medical benchmark for obesity and is the statistical estimate for Adiposity. It is also the standard employed by the WHO (World Health Organization) for its obesity statistics.
This number was introduced to the public through the government’s efforts to promote sanguinity, nutritional knowledge, and healthy eating habits. This simple statistic has rendered itself very important since it can adapt itself to continuous changes inherent in a community and can indicate the economic development on a nutritional basis.
The BMI was promoted as a simple rule of thumb that any individual of a particular height can calculate at home. It might not be the best possible indicator with regard to weight and health, as it can be unreliable in children, athletes, and the elderly.
It’s quite simple to get an idea for the approximate type of body weight using the BMI. Roughly, an individual with BMI of 19 or less can be classified as underweight and is liable to suffer from malnutrition and other such eating disorders. A BMI of 25 is considered overweight and a BMI of 30 would classify as extremely obese.
The US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reported that about 59 % of American men and 49% of American women are overweight and over 2% of men and 4% of women were reported to be extremely obese.
These alarming reports only prove the BMI to be a more critical in America today rather than just an easy index for a self- check. It is to be noted that the BMI is not a fully reliable statistic by itself and hence health and nutrition recommendations to an individual cannot be made using just the BMI.
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Female Body Mass Index
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index is the brainchild of a Belgian statistician and mathematician named Adolphe Quatelet, and was developed between 1830 and 1850. A person’s body mass index (BMI) is the relationship between their height and weight, which directly correlates to the body fat contained...
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Calculate Body Mass Index
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index is a number that represents the fat content in a human body based on the height and weight of any individual and is applicable to both men and women. A Belgian mathematician and statistician named Adolphe Quatelet developed the body mass...
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Male Body Mass Index
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index (BMI) is the relationship between the height and weight of an individual, which directly correlates to the body fat contained within the body and explains the degree of health risk associated with the person. It is measured as BMI = Body...
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Body Mass Index History
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quatelet (1796-1874) is a celebrated Belgian mathematician, astronomer, statistician and sociologist, famous for his statistical prowess and his widely used “Quatelet Index “ or the body mass index. He graduated out of University of Ghent with a doctorate in mathematics and then...
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Body Mass Index Definition
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index (BMI) is the relationship between the height and weight of an individual, which directly correlates to the body fat contained within the body and can be an indicator of the health risks the person faces. It is measured as BMI =...
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Normal Body Mass Index
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index (BMI) is the relationship between the height and weight of an individual, which directly correlates to the person’s amount of body fat and explains the degree of health risk associated with the person. It is measured as BMI = body weight...
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Body Mass Index for Teens
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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The body mass index (BMI) for teens is the relationship between the height and weight of the teen or the child, which directly correlates to the body fat contained within the body and explains the degree of health risk associated with the health of the...
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Childhood Obesity
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Most often, parents ignore the early signs of obesity in their children by interpreting the signs as indicators of good health and good eating habits. But fat children are not necessarily healthy, just the way lean ones are not devoid of health problems. More often...
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Definition Of Obesity
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Obesity is a condition that is brought about by excess body weight in the form of fat. There are various categories of being overweight. Morbidly obese person is at least 100 lbs overweight and has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of around 40 or above....
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Teen Obesity
10 August 2010 8:30 PM |
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Obesity is not a condition where an individual is simply eating too much. Obesity is now acknowledged as a grave disease that is chronic. It is prevalent in all regions of the world without any race, gender, or ethnicity bias. However, it is seen to...