body mass index
Also known as BMI
measure of relative weight based on an individual's mass and height
AI overview
Body mass index (BMI) is a simple measurement that compares your weight to your height to estimate whether you're at a healthy weight. It's widely used by doctors and public health officials as a screening tool to identify potential weight-related health concerns.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Research
368,097 papers- Waist-Hip Ratio More Appropriate Than Body Mass Index.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2020Haufs MG, Zöllner YFDOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0659a
- The Relevance of Body Mass Index in Bipolar Disorder.The American journal of psychiatry · 2024Manchia MDOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20230921
- Body mass index and body fatness in childhood.ReviewCurrent opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care · 2005Freedman DS, Ogden CL, Berenson GS et al.DOI: 10.1097/01.mco.0000171128.21655.93
- Maternal Body Mass Index and Congenital Heart Defects.Journal of the American College of Cardiology · 2019Correa ADOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.10.047
- Statistical methods for body mass index: A selective review.
Article
Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person. BMI is calculated as the body mass, in kilograms (kg), divided by the square of the body height, in square metres (m); although the quotient has units of kilograms per square metre, BMI is most often reported normalized by 1 kg/m, thus as a pure number.
The BMI is a convenient rule of thumb used to broadly categorize a person as based on tissue mass (muscle, fat, and bone) and height. Major adult BMI classifications are: underweight (under 18.5), normal weight (18.5 to 24.9), overweight (25 to 29.9), and obese (30 or more). When used to predict an individual's health, rather than as a statistical measurement for groups, the BMI has limitations that can make it less useful than some of the alternatives, especially when applied to individuals with abdominal obesity, short stature, or high muscle mass.