Body Mass Index

Overview

Body mass index (BMI) is a simple anthropometric measure of weight relative to height, calculated as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in meters, used to categorize individuals as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese. BMI provides an inexpensive, widely used screening tool for assessing body weight status at both the individual and population levels and for studying associations between weight and the risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Because it relies only on height and weight, BMI does not directly distinguish fat from lean mass and can misclassify individuals with high muscularity or atypical body composition, prompting the use of complementary measures of body composition and nutritional status. In nutrition research, BMI is frequently examined alongside diet quality, energy intake and expenditure, and life-stage and population factors, and alternative measurements such as arm span may be used when standing height cannot be obtained. Research published in this area reflects these themes, including arm span as an alternative to height for BMI in older adults, nutrition education and BMI in schoolchildren, BMI in relation to muscular individuals and body composition, diet and chronic-disease risk factors, energy expenditure estimation, nutritional status across populations and settings, and the relationship between body composition and nutritional status in older adults.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 45 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

• Fibroedema Geloide: tratamentos estéticos e a importância da nutrição
  2025 · RCMOS - Revista Científica Multidisciplinar O Saber
• Prediction of Stature using Percutaneous long bones of the Upper and Lower limbs among Asante and Ewe Ethnic Groups in Ghana
  Okwan Daniel Kobina et al. · 2025 · Journal of Forensic Science and Research
• Violations of the right to food during deprivation of liberty: a global socio-legal assessment of United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment mission reporting on selected prisons since 2015
  2025 · BMC Public Health
• Prevalence of overweight and obesity in incarcerated individuals in developed and developing countries: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
  L. Mosomi et al. · 2025 · Obesity Reviews
• Fibroedema Geloide: tratamentos estéticos e a importância da nutrição
  2025 · RCMOS - Revista Científica Multidisciplinar O Saber
• A cross-sectional study on prevalence of self-reported morbidity among elderly aged above 60 years residing in urban slums of Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India
  2025 · MRIMS Journal of Health Sciences
• Prediction of Stature using Percutaneous long bones of the Upper and Lower limbs among Asante and Ewe Ethnic Groups in Ghana
  2025 · Journal of Forensic Science and Research
• Dietary energy in balance: time for an update of energy requirements
  2025 · The Lancet

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Body Mass Index, linking to each citing work.

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.

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