Body Mass Index (BMI) | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Body mass index of Indian 19-year-olds among the lowest in 200 countries
WHY IN NEWS:
India ranks third and fifth from the bottom respectively among countries-The Lancet.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Science
ISSUE:
BODY MASS INDEX (BMI)
- A high BMI can be an indicator of high body fatness.
- BMI can be used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems but it is not diagnostic of the body fatness or health of an individual.
- Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician, and sociologist, devised the basis of the BMI between 1830 and 1850 as he developed what he called “social physics“.
SOURCES : WIKIPEDIA
CALCULATION
- The study provides new estimates for height and BMI trends in 2019 across 200 countries after analysing data from 2,181 studies.
- BMI is measured as the weight in kg divided by the square of the height in metres.
- The mean BMI of 19-year-old boys is 20.1 in India, compared to a high of 29.6 in the Cook Islands and a low of 19.2 in Ethiopia.
- For Indian girls, the mean BMI is again 20.1, compared to a high of 29.0 in Tonga and a low of 19.6 in Timor-Leste.
- The mean height of Indian 19-year-olds is 166.5 cm for boys and 155.2 cm for girls, well below the high of Netherlands boys (183.8 cm) and girls (170 cm).
- Both height and BMI have increased from 1985 to 2019 .
BMI FOR ADULTS | SOURCES : CDC.GOV.COM
APPLICATIONS
- PUBLIC HEALTH : The BMI index is suitable for recognizing trends within sedentary or overweight individuals because there is a smaller margin of error.
- CLINICAL PRACTICE : BMI categories are generally regarded as a satisfactory tool for measuring; underweight, overweight, or obese with various exceptions, such as: athletes, children, the elderly, and the infirm.
- LEGISLATION : In France, Italy, and Spain, legislation has been introduced banning the usage of fashion show models having a BMI below 18.
BOOSTING BMI
DEVELOPING GOOD FOOD HABITS
- Provide plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain products.
- Include low-fat or non-fat milk or dairy products, including cheese and yogurt.
- Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans for protein.
- Drink lots of water.
- Limit sugary drinks.
- Limit consumption of sugar and saturated fat.
KEEPING THE BODY ACTIVE HELPS IN
- Strengthening bones.
- Decreasing blood pressure.
- Reducing stress and anxiety.
- Increasing self-esteem.
- Helping with weight management.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Although there is still a great deal of potential for height while curbing any future rise in obesity so programmes targeted towards the poor from birth through school years are needed.
- “In developing countries like India, we have a dual burden i.e., over-nutrition and undernutrition,”
- The reasons could be several, like variations in the epigenetic, dietary intakes, familial, psychosocial, parental education, occupations, income etc.
- The need for regular diet and nutrition surveys in India to avert the increase of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents.
- “Overweight and obesity are mostly carried over to adult age and are causes for many metabolic disorders like insulin resistance, diabetes, hypertension, CVDs, stroke, and some cancers.”
SOURCES: THE IE | Body Mass Index (BMI) | UPSC
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