Body mass index

The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a measure for human body shape based on an individual’s weight and height. It was devised between 1830 and 1850 by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet during the course of developing “social physics”. Body mass index is defined as the individual’s body mass divided by the square of their height. The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m.