Development of a consistent body mass index.

A new body mass index, termed Consistent Body Mass Index CBMI=[Formula: see text], is developed from first principles. Customarily used Body Mass Index (BMI[Formula: see text]) or its variant Tri-ponderal Mass Index (TMI[Formula: see text]) or other measures serving to the purpose of classifying the anthropometric status of a person have repeatedly been demonstrated to be unsatisfactory in various aspects. A new index inclusive of all ages, body sizes, and sexes is therefore needed. A non-dimensional hence scalable index CBMI, which correlates well with waist-to-height ratio, [Formula: see text], is developed from fundamental relations. Correlation levels of CBMI and TMI against waist-to-height ratio [Formula: see text] are compared for measurements comprising participants ranging from 1-day-old to 75-year-old male and female infants, children, and adults. Waist-to-height ratio [Formula: see text], which correlates well, [Formula: see text], with CBMI is a reliable measure of the anthropometric status of a person. New criteria and relevant charts, based on [Formula: see text] and CBMI, are established for classifying anthropometric status levels. CBMI can also be used as an estimator for ideal body weight for a definite CBMI value and a given height [Formula: see text] from [Formula: see text].