Body Mass Index Calculator

By Brad Gibala On October 23, 2008 Under P90X

Somebody the other day reached my site by looking for a “Body Mass Index Calculator.” I was surprised to see this because I do not remember ever talking about one. I decided to go out and do some investigating on what it does. My only clue was that the “Body Mass Index Calculator” takes some kind of reading to determine how healthy you are compared with other people in your age group.

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Off to Wikipedia I go. Talk about a ton of information.

The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a statistical measurement which compares a person’s weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it is a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify obesity problems within a population. However it is not considered appropriate to use as a final indication for diagnosing individuals. It was invented between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing “social physics”. Body mass index is defined as the individual’s body weight divided by the square of their height. The formulas universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m²:

It was close to what I though it was except it is determined by using somebody’s weight and height. I guess it makes sense. There is just so much more information on the Wikipedia site that if anybody needs more I suggest you go there.

There was one part of the article which was interesting to me. The skeptics talk about how this calculator is not good for every situation. They looked at the weight and height of NFL lineman and with this calculator it says that they are morbidly obese. Now, any man that can bench press 500 pounds and still run a 40 yard dash in under 6 seconds should not be considered overweight. He is in shape its just that he is the size of a rhino. I remember reading the average life expectancy of a NFL lineman is 53. In some cases the calculator should not be used but even these NFL lineman are at risk as much as every one else. When their playing days are done they have this gigantic body which needs to be maintained. Its hard to drop weight when you are already so big. Its not the fat, its the muscle that needs to be worked down. Muscle is harder to get rid of than fat.

Got off topic. At least now I know what a “Body Mass Index Calculator” is. Maybe it would be nice to have one to check myself every once in awhile but I do not check my weight that much anyways. I can tell when I have not been working out or not. When I feel it I know its time to go and do P90X.

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