Whodunit Wednesday: Lambert Adolphe Quetelet

With a new year come all sorts of New Years resolutions. Often people are concerned with their health and what they look like. This means that diets or losing weight are often at the top of the list of these resolutions. Trying to figure out if you are at a healthy weight has for years come down to your “BMI” - your Body Mass Index. 

Wikipedia tells us: “BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms (kg) and height in metres (m).” BMI can be used as a general rule of thumb to classify people in broad groups, but its limitations have come to light through the years of its use. It is limited in predicting health when used on people of shorter stature or those with a high muscle mass. 

Amazingly, this index was devised between 1830 and 1850 by Belgian astronomer and mathematician Adolphe Quintelet. He never intended the index to be used as a medical assessment, but instead was interested in the “average man” and what would be considered as a social ideal. A decade later these ideas would be used by proponents of Eugenics. 

The modern term “body mass index” was coined in 1972 by Ancel Keys as he discussed the topic of obesity. He mentioned that the index could be used for a broad population, but not for individual studies or evaluation. In the end, Quetelet’s formula has been used to discuss obesity in populations, but is not used as much anymore to determine one’s own individual health. More nuance is needed in an individual evaluation. 

So, be resolved. Make decisions to be healthy or to take more exercise. Just don’t get lost in the larger group or broader calls for what “you” need to do. And remember to continue to put your focus own what matters most in life - knowing God and following Him every day.