Scaling of human body mass with height: the body mass index revisited.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19909957.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2009.10.038.
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Abstract
We adapt a biomechanical argument of Rashevsky, which places limits on the stress experienced by a torso supported by the legs, to deduce that body mass m of growing children should scale as the p th power of height h with 7/3 < p < 8/3. Further arguments based on stability and heat loss suggest that p should be close to 8/3. The arguments are extended to suggest that waist circumference w should scale as hq with q near the lower end of 2/3 < or = q < or = 1. Data from Hong Kong and British children are consistent with these hypotheses.
Medical subject headings
- Aging
- Algorithms
- Anthropometry
- Body Height
- Body Weight
- Models, Biological