The body mass index (BMI) or Quetelet Index is a quotient of body mass which takes into account both height and weight measured as kg/m2, and is used as a simple means of classifying sedentary individuals into groups in relation to their body mass.

It was originally developed between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath, Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing "social physics".

Despite its age, is still used today by government health bodies to see trends in health and illness.

For more information about the topic Body mass index, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Overweight — The term overweight is generally used to indicate that a human (or other mammal) has more body fat than is typical or required for the normal ...  > read more

Obesity — Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it ...  > read more

Basal metabolic rate — Basal metabolic rate (BMR), is the rate of metabolism that occurs when an individual is at rest in a warm environment and is in the post absorptive ...  > read more

Anorexia nervosa — Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by voluntary starvation and exercise stress. Anorexia nervosa is a complex disease, involving ...  > read more

Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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