Lecture 1 - BMI

Lab class 01
Measurement of
Body Mass Index
INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH LAB 101
FALL 2020
Content
• What is nutrition? What is over and undernutrition?
• What are the functions of fat
• Cause and effect of obesity
• What is BMI? How can we calculate it?
• Normal range of BMI
• Limitation of BMI.
• Alternatives of BMI
• Application in public health.

Nutrition and nutrients
• Nutrition is the process by which our body takes nutrients from foods and utilizes
for growth, energy production and metabolism
• Nutrients are chemical components found in food that are used for growth, energy
production and metabolism
• Good nutritional status is very important for proper functioning. Good nutritional
status means all the necessary nutrients are present in the body in appropriate
amount
Classification of malnutrition
Abnormal Nutrition
Normal Nutrition
(Malnutrition)
Under-Nutrition Over-Nutrition
Overweight and Obesity
Protein Energy Micronutrient

Malnutrition Deficiency
Wasting Vitamin A deficiency
Stunting Zinc deficiency
Underweight Iodine deficiency
Iron deficiency
Overweight and Obesity
• Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that
presents a risk to health
• These conditions are determined by measuring the Body Mass Index and following
specific cutoffs
• When a person becomes overweight the number and/or size of his/her fat storing
cells increase
• Overweight and obesity usually occurs due to combination of a number of factors,

but the fundamental cause being imbalance between energy consumed and energy
spent
Different kinds of body fat and body shape based on fat
Functions of fat in our body
• Energy stores  Fats are the body’s chief form of stored energy (9Kcal/gram)
• Muscle fuel  Fats provide much of the energy to fuel muscular work
• Padding  Fat pads inside the body cavity protect the internal organs from shock
• Insulation  Fats insulate against temperature extremes by forming a fat layer under
the skin
• Absorption of vitamin  Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) require presence of fat
for absorption
Causes of Obesity
• Dietary choices (Processed or fast food, Sugary drinks, Alcohol) have a large impact on development of overweight
or obesity. Additionally, eating out a lot and having larger portions can increase the risk of obesity
• Physical inactivity due to several reasons like Sedentary lifestyle, changing modes of transportation and increased
urbanization can lead to obesity
• Genetics can play an important role in development of obesity. Genes can affect our appetite, satiety (the sense of
fullness), metabolism, food cravings, body-fat distribution, and the tendency to use eating to cope with stress.
More than 400 different genes have been implicated in the causes of overweight or obesity
• Lack of sleep can cause obesity by increasing appetite (ghrelin/leptin pathway), increasing opportunity to eat and
increased fatigue (leading to physical inactivity)
• Composition of gut microbiota (by dictating energy extraction from food) can influence the development of
obesity
Effects of Obesity
Short life expectancy – Obese people have ≥50% increased risk of dying prematurely
• Hypertension and Cardiovascular diseases (Heart attack, Stroke, ,Heart failure)
• Metabolic diseases (type II diabetes, liver cirrhosis, abnormal blood lipid)
• Cancers (Breast, Colon, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas)
• Reproductive health problems (Polycystic ovary, abnormal periods, infertility)
• Others – Asthma, Joint problems, Bone thinning (osteoporosis), Depression, Gall stones etc.
Obesity is associated with more than 40 diseases, including all major NCDs
Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Body mass index or BMI is a value derived from the mass and height of a person
• BMI gives us an idea about the amount of fat a person have, by determining the ideal
weight for a person’s height (based on a cutoff) and assuming that the excess weight
is attributable to fat
• To measure a person’s BMI, we have to divide a person’s weight in kilograms by

his/her height in squared meters.
Calculation of BMI
Weight in kilograms
Body mass index or BMI = kg/m2
Height in meter squares
If a person has a height of 67 kilograms and a height of 5 feet 8 inches, what would be his/her BMI?
Height = 5 feet 8 inches Weight = 67 kilograms
= 5 x 12 + 8 inches [1 feet = 12 inches] 67 kg

So the BMI =
= 68 inches (1.7272 meters)2
= 68 x 2.54 cm [1 inch = 2.54 centimeters] 67 kg
=
= 172.72 cm 2.9832 m2
= 172.72 100 meters [1 meter = 100 cm]

= 22.4591 kg/m2
= 1.7272 meters
= 22.46 kg/m2
Range of BMI
Morbidly Obese
kg/m2 kg/m2 kg/m2 kg/m2 kg/m2 kg/m2
Limitations of BMI
• PROXY indicator (does not actually measure the fat mass, but makes an idea about it)
• Cannot differentiate between visceral or subcutaneous fat
• BMI may overestimate (in athletes) or underestimate (in old age or muscle wasting) fat
• Should not be used for pregnant women or growing children

Alternatives of BMI measurement
Skin fold thickness Waist circumference Waist-Hip ratio

Application in Public Health
BMI can detect overweight and obesity that poses increased health risk. So by
identifying the number of people with high BMI (who are otherwise healthy) can
educate the people about their health risk and thus allows us to intervene and
prevent the condition from becoming worse.
This procedure in Public Health practice is called "Screening"
Normal
Underweight
Overweight
Obese

Lecture 1 - BMI

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture 1 - BMI

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lecture 1 - BMI

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Lab class 01

• What are the functions of fat

• Cause and effect of obesity

• What is BMI? How can we calculate it?

• Normal range of BMI

• Application in public health.

Protein Energy Micronutrient

• Overweight and obesity usually occurs due to combination of a number of factors,

• Hypertension and Cardiovascular diseases (Heart attack, Stroke, ,Heart failure)

• Metabolic diseases (type II diabetes, liver cirrhosis, abnormal blood lipid)

• Cancers (Breast, Colon, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas)

• Reproductive health problems (Polycystic ovary, abnormal periods, infertility)

• To measure a person’s BMI, we have to divide a person’s weight in kilograms by

Height = 5 feet 8 inches Weight = 67 kilograms

= 5 x 12 + 8 inches [1 feet = 12 inches] 67 kg

= 172.72 100 meters [1 meter = 100 cm]

• Cannot differentiate between visceral or subcutaneous fat

• Should not be used for pregnant women or growing children

Skin fold thickness Waist circumference Waist-Hip ratio

This procedure in Public Health practice is called "Screening"

You might also like