Body Mass Index

I put together some info on Body Mass Index recently for a friend -- I'll recap the highlights here. The Body Mass Index formula was complicated when it first appeared a few years ago and has been simplified into various formulas that all produce similar results. The formula I've reproduced below is from the Wikipedia article on Body Mass Index.

BMI scores are reported as a number from around 15 to 40. Here is what the numbers mean:

<16.5 = Severely underweight
16.5 - 18.5 = Underweight
18.5 - 25 = NORMAL
25 - 30 = Overweight
30 - 35 = Obese
35 - 40 = Clinically Obese
40> = Morbidly Obese

You derive the score by using this formula:

BMI = (weight x 703) ÷ (height-in-inches squared)

For example, for a person who is 6' (or 72") tall and 200 pounds we get:

(200 x 703) ÷ (72 x 72)

140,600 ÷ 5,184

= 27.12

Based on the chart above, 27.12 indicates an "Overweight" score, or BMI.

Most BMI recommendations say that "24" should be everyone's target score.

SO -- if 24 is the target BMI score, what does that translate to in weight? We use the same formula and solve it a different way using W = weight as the unknown variable:

24 = (W x 703) ÷ (72 x 72)

24 = 703W ÷ 5,184

24 x 5,184 = 703W

124,416 = 703W

124,416 ÷ 703 = W

176.97 = W (or 177 pounds, rounded up)

SO, to achieve a BMI of 24 a six-foot tall person should weigh 177 pounds (or less: remember, the "Normal" BMI range is 18.5 - 25)

NOW -- here's what this means in terms of health:

1. Diseases like cancer grow in an acidic environment.
2. Cancer is suppressed (won't grow) in an alkaline environment.
3. It is "impossible" to be overweight and have an alkaline environment. The foods that create obesity in the Standard American Diet (meat, fats, sugar, processed grains, processed foods, junk foods) are all HIGHLY acidic.
4. A plant-based diet (fruits and veggies, etc.) is almost totally alkaline. (The body's ideal pH is to be slightly alkaline.)

Therefore, when you find a person who is obese and has cancer, you can pretty much assume their inner system is highly acidic. The diet (and lack of exercise, etc.) that made them obese will also make them acidic, creating an ideal environment for cancer to grow.

On the other hand, a plant-based diet will eventually lead one to a normal weight while creating an alkaline environment at the same time, INHIBITING cancer growth.

SO, not only do you return to a normal weight on a plant-based diet (and also reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc.) you also create an inner system (alkaline) that inhibits cancer growth.

By consuming a plant-based diet faithfully, two things will happen:

1. You should return to a normal, healthy weight.
2. You will create an inner terrain in which cancer will have a very difficult time surviving.

Full disclosure: the BMI has been criticized in some quarters for being too conservative when "24" is made the target score. Critics say it doesn't take into account different muscular builds (healthy, but heavier due to muscle bulk) and different body shapes ("big-boned," etc.).

Truth be told, most people who react negatively to the weight at which they reach a BMI of 24 (or less) -- "I look skinny! No, gaunt!" -- are reacting to how they look compared to how they used to look (overweight) and how the rest of the population looks: 60+% overweight and 30+% obese. Twenty-four is, for most people, a healthy target.