Chapter 15, Problem 1.1CS

Summary Introduction

To determine: Person A BMI during school nurse visit.

Introduction: The body mass index (BMI) is a measure of proportion of the person’s height and weight. It is calculated by dividing weight (in kg) by square of height (in m). The status of eating disorders among adolescents is assesessed by their body mass index (BMI) that changes during a course of time.

Explanation of Solution

During a school nurse visit, Person A, who was 15 years old and active as well as had an outstanding academic performance, was prescribed antibiotics after being diagnosed with strep throat infection. Her height and weight were recorded to be $5^{\prime }{3}^{″}$ and 107 lb, respectively. Four months later, Person A was 96 pounds and appeared tired with decreased appetite. She reported to have suffered from sinus and other infections, besides it was hard to train her for sports team. Her doctor advised her to decrease her training and eat more to which she agreed. But in early June, when Person A was examined by her physician for a pre-employment physical examination, she was 91 pounds and that concerned her physician although Person A assures that she feels and looks fine.

On the MD physician’s reference, she consulted an outpatient clinical dietician, and it was then that her dependence on diet beverages came to light. Person A strongly disagrees on using dietary aids claiming to have enough will power to reduce food intake. However, she is not willing to reduce the intensity of her training, which was a sign of compensatory exercise, which in medical terms is a form of purging. Person A’s mother was later informed by the dietician about a possible eating disorder.

The dietician conferred with the physician and Person A’s parents and sent information about eating disorders, possible outcomes, and treatment options. It was after three months Person A was admitted to the hospital and referred for an in-patient eating disorder evaluation when the clinic was notified that she had fainted at gym class.

The recorded height and weight of Person A during the school nurse visit were $5^{\prime }{3}^{″}$ and 107 lb, respectively. Converting it into equivalent units, the height was 1.61 m, and weight was 48.53 kg.

Use the above information to find the BMI.

$\begin{array}{c}\text{Body mass index }\left(\text{BMI}\right)\text{=}\frac{\text{Weight in }\left(\text{kg}\right)}{{\left[\text{height in (m)}\right]}^{\text{2}}}\\ \text{=}\frac{\text{48}\text{.53}}{{\left(\text{1}\text{.61}\right)}^{\text{2}}}\\ \text{=18}{\text{.73 kg/m}}^{\text{2}}\\ \simeq 19{\text{kg/m}}^{\text{2}}(\text{Approximately})\end{array}$

Therefore, Person A BMI is 19 kg/m².