Healthateverysizeblog | Keith Devlin. By Jon Robison, PhD, MS The BMI is a measure of height and weight – specifically weight divided by height squared. It is the predominate measure by which health professionals and governments determine what is and is not a “healthy weight” for a particular individual, thereby informing them if they are “at risk” for morbidity and premature mortality. In reality, however, BMI is not only not a good measure of health, it is actually not a measure of health at all. The formula itself was created around 1850 by the brilliant Belgian mathematician, astronomer and statistician Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet – and appropriately named The Quetelet Index. Dr. Quetelet was not a health professional and he was not interested in fat or health risk.
He was fascinated by the idea of using statistics to draw conclusions about societies – and the “average man.” The Quetelet Index remained as such until 1972 when Dr. Statistician Dr. But wait, there is more! So, there we have it. Like this: Keith Devlin. LockhartsLament.pdf (application/pdf Object) Wanted: Innovative Mathematical Thinking. Role-Playing Your Way to Math Mastery?