Body Mass Index

The Body Mass Index (BMI), sometimes called the "Quetelet Index" after its inventor, is an indication the weight of a person as compared to their height. The Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet invented the formula around 1830 to 1850 and it is now widely used in the medical profession to gauge a patient's level of being under or over weight.

In short, it is a mathematical formula used to assess relative body weight, being a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters (kg/m 2 ). In fact, even though it was devised some 150+ years ago, Quetelet's formula for classifying a person's weight relative to an ideal weight for their height has remained in use with only minor variations to the present day and is still the only widely-recognised formula used in determining obesity statistics and ensuing discussions.

However, the usage of the BMI has become somewhat controversial as it is now used for purposes for which it was never conceived, i.e., Medical Diagnosis. It was originally design purely as a means of classification and statistical analysis, and the continued use for determining a person's obesity or lack thereof from a medical standpoint is not without question. However, until something better comes along, the Body Mass Index is the best we have to assist in treating what is fast becoming a dangerous and expensive medical condition - Obesity.