The body mass index is the brainchild of a Belgian statistician and mathematician named Adolphe Quatelet, and was developed between 1830 and 1850.

A person's body mass index (BMI) is the relationship between their height and weight, which directly correlates to the body fat contained within the body and explains the degree of health risk associated with the of the person. It is measured as BMI = Body weight in Kilograms/ height in meters squared.

The BMI values for women seem to be falling on the initial spectrum of the normal adult Body Mass Index, which should be somewhere in between 20 - 22. While the desirable body mass is about 21-23, obesity, which is at least 20% above the desirable range, can be assumed to begin at 27.5 and extreme obesity can be marked at 31.5 for women.

For women, their weight to height ratio could play an important role in trying to assess their health characteristics. Dividing one's waist size by one's height derives the weight-to-height ratio. If you are wondering what some seemingly perfect weight-to-height ratios might be like, a Barbie doll has a WHR of 25 % while some college female swimmers might have a WHR of 42.4%.

Being healthy is one of most primary concerns and American women today are in a constant fight against obesity. Coupled with the increasing costs of healthcare and medicine, the harmful effects of obesity inevitably lead to otherwise avoidable complications. The BMI is surely a useful guide for these women.