Body mass index (BMI) is a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to adult men and women. It’s used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems.
BMI was developed in the early 19th century by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist. Quetelet’s original formula was based on the assumption that height and weight are linearly related, and that a healthy weight for a given height is proportional to the square of the height. Since then, BMI has been used as a simple and inexpensive way to classify individuals into weight categories that may lead to health problems.