The BMI: A History

Introudcing....the BMI! When you punch your height and weight in an online calculator, this is what it does:

BMI= weight in pounds x 703
           height in inches squared

Thank you Wikipedia for that somewhat bewildering formula (703? I'm assuming it's some kind of a conversion factor, the orginal equation was metric...still, 703??). While I'm sure I could look up how it was derived, I'm not sure it's quite worth our time. Anyways, on a more practical note...

The BMI is over a 150 years old, and originally developed for physicians so that they could discuss over and under weight issues with their patients using a simple, objective number. In fact, the article specifies that the BMI was originally for use with sedentary patients.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that sedentary patients don't have much muscle mass. I'm going to go out on another limb and suggest that this is why, according to the value produced by the BMI, Arnold Schwarzenegger is clinically obese. The BMI was not designed for athletes.

The BMI has its flaws (doesn't count bone density, muscle mass, the equation doesn't work as well at taller heights, etc), but historically it has provided a good jumping off point for over and under weight discussions. It's simple, and pardon my frankness but....

If you are quite honestly fat (like dough boy fat) and you want to know if you're obese, this may be the way to go. After all, it's only a suggestion. Or if you're really bony and you're not sure if it's healthy, it may be a good suggestion to take into account. Of course, I'm not a doctor or a trainer. I'm just a blogger looking at the potential usefulness of one of the most prevalent "figures" in modern fitness.