Historical Review of Developing Body Weight Indices: Meaning and Purpose

Rationale:The last century was blossoming with the development of multiple indices to measure body weight.Many researchers aimed to explore the association of extra body weight with various diseases using different approaches of body weight measures.However, there is no summary of developed body mass indices highlighting their strengths and/or weaknesses.Objective: This paper reviews and compares the existing body weight indexes that were developed particularly to define overweight and obesity in relation to adverse health outcomes.Methods: A systematic literature review was performed to chronologically summarize the development of body weight measures from the first index developed by Quetelet (BMI) in 1832 to Body Adiposity Index (BAI) in 2011. Conclusion:The paper provides summary of the development and validation of existing body weight indexes.Knowledge of the historical approaches to the measurements of obesity will help researchers to utilize the appropriate body weight assessments to address their objectives.Latin Proverb: "A good beginning ensures a good ending".