Body Mass

Body Mass refers quite simply to the mass, or weight, of an organism's body. Body Mass is perhaps the more correct term and certainly less ambiguous than body weight, and is becoming more preferable in today's medical and botanical communities.

Body Mass is measured in Kilograms throughout most of the world, Pounds in America and sometimes Stones (1 Stone = 14Lbs) in the UK, although the use of Kilograms for measurement in US hospitals is on the increase. This explains the difference in terminology between Body Mass and Body Weight as Kilograms is a unit of mass whereas Pounds is a measure of force.

Regardless of how you measure it, it is certain that the average Body Mass or Body Weight of people of all ages, genders and ethnicity is on the rise in developed countries around the globe including the US, UK, Canada and Australia. In fact, the increase is now at the point where Obesity is recognised as a global epidemic.