News tagged with body mass index

CDC presents recent trends in health behaviors of US adults

(HealthDay)—In 2008 to 2010, the prevalence of key health behaviors among U.S. adults varied, with about one in five adults current smokers and 62.1 percent overweight or obese, according to a report presented ...

Health created 21 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Genetic risk for obesity found in many Mexican young adults

As many as 35 percent of Mexican young adults may have a genetic predisposition for obesity, said a University of Illinois scientist who conducted a study at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosί.

Overweight and Obesity created 21 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Glaucoma drug can cause droopy eyelids

Prostaglandin analogues (PGAs), drugs which lower intraocular pressure, are often the first line of treatment for people with glaucoma, but their use is not without risks. PGAs have long been associated with blurred vision, ...

Ophthalmology created May 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Exposure to traffic pollution increases asthma severity in pregnant women

Air pollutants from traffic are associated with increased asthma severity levels in pregnant asthmatic women, according to a new study.

Health created May 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New study identifies risk factors for depression among COPD patients

Patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) typically suffer from depression more frequently than those without COPD, resulting in higher levels of disability and illness and increasing the overall ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 20, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers identify a potential new risk for sleep apnea: Asthma

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have identified a potential new risk factor for obstructive sleep apnea: asthma. Using data from the National Institutes of Health (Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)-funded Wisconsin ...

Sleep apnea created May 19, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds that sleep apnea and Alzheimer's are linked

A new study looking at sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neuroimaging adds to the growing body of research linking the two.

Alzheimer's disease & dementia created May 19, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Free fatty acids linked to cardiac risk in late adulthood

(HealthDay)—Blood levels of free fatty acids are associated with insulin resistance during young adulthood and cardiovascular risk factors in later adulthood, according to a study published online May 13 ...

Cardiology created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Lifestyle activities impact development of spinal stenosis

(HealthDay)—Increased loading of the lumbar spine, arising from lifestyle activities (such as lifting heavy objects, more frequent pregnancy, and higher body mass index), could contribute to the degenerative ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 16, 2013 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Body mass index of low income African-Americans linked to proximity of fast food restaurants

African-American adults living closer to a fast food restaurant had a higher body mass index (BMI) than those who lived further away from fast food, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ...

Health created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

New QResearch tool to improve stroke treatment

(Medical Xpress)—University of Nottingham researchers have developed a new predictive tool to help GPs identify and treat patients at risk of stroke.

Cardiology created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

ASH: People with hypertension prefer higher salt taste

(HealthDay)—People with hypertension have a taste for more salt in their food than do individuals with normotension, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension, ...

Health created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Body fat hardens arteries after middle age

Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed.

Cardiology created May 15, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Slim women have a greater risk of developing endometriosis than obese women

Women with a lean body shape have a greater risk of developing endometriosis than women who are morbidly obese, according to the largest prospective study to investigate the link.

Health created May 14, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds genetic risk factor for knee osteoarthritis

(Medical Xpress)—A newly published paper reports that individuals with radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) who had a specific pattern of gene variations in the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene (IL1RN), which is ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created May 14, 2013 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Body mass index

The body mass index (BMI), or Quetelet index, is a controversial statistical measurement which compares a person's weight and height. Though it does not actually measure the percentage of body fat, it may be a useful tool to estimate a healthy body weight based on how tall a person is. Due to its ease of measurement and calculation, it is the most widely used diagnostic tool to identify weight problem within a population including: underweight, overweight and obesity. It was invented 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 weight divided by the square of his or her height. The formulae universally used in medicine produce a unit of measure of kg/m2. BMI can also be determined using a BMI chart, which displays BMI as a function of weight (horizontal axis) and height (vertical axis) using contour lines for different values of BMI or colours for different BMI categories.

For more information about Body mass index, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.