Healthateverysizeblog. 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. Keith Devlin. LockhartsLament.pdf (application/pdf Object) Wanted: Innovative Mathematical Thinking. Role-Playing Your Way to Math Mastery?