Step 1 - What is BMI?
BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a measure of the mass distribution in our body. Our body is supported by our bones, which can handle only a limited amount of mass.
The taller we are, the larger our bones use to be, and the stronger our muscles, in general. That's because we are increasing their surface area. BMI therefore tries to relate our weight with our surface area.
Step 2 - Calculating BMI
Our weight can be calculated by our mass (in Kg). Our surface area, on the other hand, is way more complicated to calculate, but it depends on the square of our height.
Therefore, the BMI can be calculated by dividing our mass by our height squared:
As an example, let's calculate the IMC of a ficticious person. Suppose someone weights 64 kg and is 1.63 m tall. His/her BMI would be:
