Body Mass Index
By Elizabeth Morgan
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.
Body
Mass Index provides detailed information
about body mass index, body mass index
definition, body mass index for teens,
and more. Body Mass Index is affiliated
with Creatine Monohydrate.
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