The Quetelet Index - Body Mass Index Factor

Adolphe Quetelet, who is from Belgium, developed the Quetelet Index around the time from of 1830 to 1850. The Quetelet Index is known as the Body Mass Index today.

The Body Mass Index is used to determine an individual’s best body weight for their height. There is a simple calculation that is used to calculate your body mass index. The calculation to find your appropriate BMI is as follows: divide your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared.

Index Ranges

Less than 20 is considered for being underweight. If you are having a hard time keeping your weight at an appropriate range, you may want to seek advice from your doctor for help to increase your BMI.

Twenty to twenty-five is considered to be healthy. This range can be maintained with the diet and exercise that you are currently doing.

Twenty-five to twenty-nine is considered to be overweight. With this range, more than likely a small change in your diet and a small amount of exercise can lower your BMI.

More than thirty is considered to be obese and can be very unhealthy. A drastic change in your diet and exercise can help alleviate most of the fat in your body, but when you are in this range you should contact your doctor for advice.

When a person’s BMI is at thirty, the risks are higher for diseases and death. Some common diseases that are connected to a person with a higher BMI are colon, breast, and endometrial cancers; sleep apnea and respiratory problems; coronary heart diseases, type-two diabetes, high blood pressure which is also known as hypertension, high LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), and low HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

When the elderly have a loss of muscle mass due to deterioration, they could show a lower BMI with a higher rate of fat content. As for athletes, the opposite will hold true for them. This happens with athletes because of the training programs that they go through. The training programs have the ability to increase their muscle content and add more to their weight than fat will because muscle increases with exercise.