Between the 1970s and the 1990s, body mass index (BMI) became an important tool to measure obesity – and thus health – in the UK. Initially developed between 1830 and 1850 by a Belgian astronomer and statistician called Adolphe Quetelet, BMI was never intended to be used within the realms of medical assessment, but rather as a tool of sociological analysis.
However, as the prevalence of obesity increased in the western world towards the end of the 20th century, so too did interest in developing a tool to measure body fat. BMI was therefore repurposed to identify relative obesity – first in the US, and later the UK. According to Quetelet’s formula, BMI is calculated by dividing your mass (in kilos) by the square of your height (in metres).
