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Review
. 2022 Feb 11;14(2):e22119.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.22119. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Body Mass Index (BMI): A Screening Tool Analysis

Deepesh Khanna  1 , Cadynce Peltzer  1 , Payal Kahar  2 , Mayur S Parmar  1
Affiliations
Review

Body Mass Index (BMI): A Screening Tool Analysis

Deepesh Khanna et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Body mass index (BMI), a measurement based on a person's height and weight, allows the classification of individuals into categories such as obese or overweight. With these classifications, we can assess risk for hypertension, diabetes, cancer, hypercholesterolemia, and other chronic diseases. Furthermore, childhood BMI serves as a prediction method for health and disease later in life. Along with BMI, researchers also study waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio in correlation with the above-mentioned chronic illnesses. This brief review explores the associations between body mass index, waist circumference, and the waist-hip ratio as measurements and their capability as predictors for persistent conditions like diabetes and hypertension.

Keywords: body mass index: bmi; childhood obesity; diabetes; health predictor; hypercholesterolemia; hypertension; mortality; muscle mass; waist circumference; waist hip ratio.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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