How Did The Bmi Get Developed?

A person's BMI, or body mass index, is a measure of his weight in relation to his height. It is often applied to individuals to categorize them as underweight, normal weight, overweight or obese. However, the BMI was never intended to be applied to individuals --- rather, it was developed for population studies.

Development of BMI

The body mass index was devised in the 19th century by Lambert Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian statistician and sociologist, the Famous Belgians website reports. It was intended to be a tool used to compare large groups of people --- for example, comparing the average weight of adults in the United States to the average weight of adults in Ireland.

Recent Use of the BMI

The term "BMI" dates from 1972; until then, the measurement was called the Quetelet Index. A 1972 paper published in the "Journal of Chronic Diseases" proposed the formula as a simple calculation to predict the prevalence of heart disease and other obesity-related conditions in different populations. However, BMI quickly became popular as a diagnostic tool due to its ease of use. In 1985, the National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Panel concluded that BMI was an appropriate measurement of obesity in individuals.

BMI Calculation

The standard formula for calculating BMI is your weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in meters. If you have a BMI of less than 17.5, you are classified as underweight; if you have a BMI of 18 to 25, you are a healthy weight; a BMI of 25 to 30 places you in the overweight class; and a BMI of over 30 indicates obesity. These figures apply to most white people and people of African origin. As people of Southeast Asian origin tend to have slighter frames than either of these other populations, the thresholds are lower for each category and were calculated in 2004. A normal BMI for this group is defined as 18.5 to 22.9; overweight is 23 to 24.9; those with a BMI is over 25 are considered obese.

Caution

Body-fat percentage is the ideal measure of obesity. When BMI and body fat percentage were compared in a study published in 2008 in the "International Journal of Obesity," BMI measures were found to be extremely inaccurate in diagnosing obesity. BMI frequently misdiagnoses athletic people as being obese, and often misses out on people of moderate weight with high body-fat percentages. Researchers also called it unsuitable for use on older people, children and people with frame sizes larger or smaller than average. Body-fat percentage is best calculated by your doctor.