What is the full form of BMI?
The full form of BMI is Body Mass Index. It is a method of measuring through which individuals are classified into the following categories: obese, overweight, normal weight and underweight. It’s the proportion of your weight in kg (kilogram) to the square of your height in m(meters). People who have high BMI have much more body fat or weight for their height.
The calculation method of BMI
One must have two parameters to measure the BMI: the height of a person in meter and his weight in kg. Weight should be in pounds if the height of the person is given in inches. The BMI estimation formula is given as
- If the height and weight of the person is given in terms of inches and pounds, then BMI can be calculated using the given below formula.
| BMI = Weight (in pounds)/Height (In inches)2 ✕ 703 |
Where 703 is a conversion factor.
- If the height and weight of the person is given in terms of meters and kilogram then BMI can be calculated using the given below formula.
| BMI = Weight (kg)/Height (m)2 |
Importance of BMI
- In the 1830s, Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, developed the BMI. It’s sometimes referred to as the Quetelet index.
- BMI provides you with an approximate overall health calculation and the risk of developing chronic conditions such as high BP, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, gallstones, and so on.
- With no health threat, a highly muscular individual can also have a high BMI.
Values of BMI
When we measure BMI using the above-mentioned formula, depending on the value we obtain BMI can be classified in different categories.
- If the value of BMI is less than 18.5, then the person falls under the underweight category.
- If the value of BMI is between 18.5 to 24.9, then the person falls under the normal category.
- If the value of BMI is between 25 to 29.9, then the person falls under the overweight category.
- If the value of BMI is between 30 to 34.9, then the person falls under the obesity category.
- If the value of BMI is between 35 to 39.9, then the person falls under the severely obese category.
- If the value of BMI is more than 40, then the person falls under the morbid obesity category.
Example
Let us consider a person with a height of 2.0 meters and weight 80 kg, then BMI can be calculated using the formula,
BMI = 80 kg /(2)2
BMI = 20
The value of BMI falls under the normal value.
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