An important tool in gauging health, the body mass index, or BMI, helps you assess whether you are at an ideal weight for your height. The BMI guide helps your doctor determine if you are underweight or overweight and design an approach to diet and exercise that can help you to achieve optimal health.
History
During the early 1830s, Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician and sociologist, devised a formula to evaluate the "average man," taking into consideration such factors as height and weight. In 1835, Quetelet published his findings in his book "Treatise on Man," and his work remains the basis for the modern BMI guide. However, the BMI concept didn't gain wide acceptance until 1985, when the U.S. National Institute of Health, or NIH, used BMI to define obesity.
Function
To calculate BMI, divide your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared, and then multiply by 703. For metric results, divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. This simple formula, still known as the Quetelet Formula in honor of its inventor, provides an easy way to evaluate the relationship of height and weight, which plays an important role in body fat and overall health.
Features
The BMI guide places individuals into one of four main categories: underweight, normal, overweight and obese. The guide considers individuals with BMI ratings below 18.5 underweight. Normal BMI rankings fall between 18.6 and 24.9. BMI ratings between 25 and 29.9 qualify as overweight, and anything 30 and higher classifies as obese.
Significance
Individuals with BMI ratings in the overweight range risk such health problems as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure. Obese people face even more potential issues, risking a far greater chance of developing cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis and respiratory ailments.
Considerations
While a valuable diagnostic tool, the BMI guide doesn't provide accurate evaluations for everyone. Athletes can register a high BMI because of their excessive musculature despite not having much body fat. Conversely, a person with low muscle mass can register a healthy BMI despite having a higher percentage of body fat. A normal BMI does not ensure good health, though, because you still could be suffering from poor nutrition.
Types
The standard BMI guide works to measure the body mass index of adult men and women. You should use a different scale for evaluating children because of their continuing growth. To compensate for changes in height and weight, a child's BMI also takes age into consideration, with BMI-for-age charts to measure children and teens.
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