That would probably have to work only for a certain range. For me at 1.79 m a mass of 79 kg would be pretty good.
But for a very short person, say 1.25 m ... Carleton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Pat Naughtin Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 18:01 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:28947] Re: Doctors' scales Dear All, When you have been weighed in your doctor's surgery, it might be politic to ask the doctor, or the nurse, would they mind calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI) as you want to know if you are in the correct BMI range. As you know, this is relatively easy to do in metric (see below) and quite difficult using old measures. At the very least, it might get the surgery staff thinking on another level. Body Mass Index (BMI) Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is a quick method to see how your height and mass compare to the rest of the population. Body mass index (BMI) has become the medical standard used to define normal body mass and obesity. Calculation of your BMI can give you an estimate to determine if you may be at health risk due to excessive weight. Your BMI is defined as your mass (in kilograms) divided by your height (in metres) squared. The calculation is fairly easy � you divide your mass in kilograms by the square of your height in metres. This is an example for a friend of mine. I laid it out like this. His mass is 94 kilograms. His height is 1.8 metres His height squared is 1.8 m X 1.8 m = 3.24 m2 The formula for Body Mass Index is: BMI = (mass in kilograms) � (height in metres)2 For my friend this is: BMI = 94 kg � 3.24 m2 = 29.01234 So his BMI is 29 (rounded) So what does this BMI mean? In 1997 the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) discussed an escalating epidemic of overweight and obesity affecting many countries in the world. As part of their action they defined various levels of Body Mass Index (BMI). WHO were concerned that people with a high BMI are more likely to develop non-communicable diseases and other health disorders. WHO has agreed on an international standard for measuring overweight and obesity. For assessing obesity in adult populations, the BMI categories are: BMI below 18.9 means underweight BMI between 19 and 24.9 means normal. BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 means overweight. BMI of 30 or more means obese and there are various grades of obese. Class I obese: BMI from 30 to 34.9 Class II obese: BMI from 35 to 39.9 Class III obese: BMI is above 40 These BMI figures are a useful guide to the relationship between your body mass, your height and your health, but only you can know what they mean for you. Clearly my friend will have to consider ways he might reduce his BMI from 29 to somewhere below 25. These calculations work well for obese people, but they are not so useful for evaluating fitness. As usual, there is still debate about general conclusions that may be drawn from BMI numbers. As an example of this debate, I quote from the letters section of the Melbourne newspaper, 'The Age'. ** 'Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, while those in the range 25-30 are considered overweight. The BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms, by the square of their height in metres. 'The problem is that this does not take into account one's width, as distinct from girth, or whether the weight is made up from fat or muscle. Thus, by this criterion, about 30 per cent of all Australian Football league players are overweight. For example Adelaide's Andrew McLeod has a BMI of 26.6 and Carlton's Anthony Koutoufides, 26.9. These would be considered to be two of the fittest players going around'. ** However, having said all of this, there is an easier way for you to decide if you are overweight or not. Simply follow these steps: 1 Find your height in metres. For example say you are 1.72 metres tall. 2 Remove the 1 and the decimal marker, to leave the number 72. 3 Your ideal body mass is 72 kilograms. 4 If you are more than 20�% higher than this you are obese. In this example you would have to have a body mass more than 86�kilograms to be Class 1 obese. Class 11 obese would be 100 kilograms, and Class 111 obese would be 114�kilograms. Note for the historians Body Mass Index is also known as the 'Quetelet Index' named for Jacques Quetelet, an early 19th century statistician who applied statistical methods to anthropometric data to establish his 'Quetelet Index'. Cheers, Pat Naughtin LCAMS* Geelong, Australia Pat Naughtin is the editor of the free online newsletter, 'Metrication matters'. You can subscribe by sending an email containing the words subscribe Metrication matters to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pat is recognised by the United States Metric Association as a Lifetime Advanced Certified Metrication Specialist (LCAMS). --
