The term body weight is used colloquially and in the biological and medical sciences
to refer to a person's mass or weight. Body weight is measured in kilograms, a measure
of mass, throughout the world, although in some countries such as the United States it
is measured in pounds, or as in the United Kingdom, stones and pounds. Most hospitals,
even in the United States, now use kilograms for calculations, but use kilograms and pounds
together for other purposes. Strictly speaking, the body weight is the weight of the person
without any items on, but practically body weight is taken with clothes on but often
without the shoes and heavy accessories like mobile phones and wallets. Body weight is
one way of determining a person's health.
Ideal body weight Ideal body weight was initially introduced
by Devine in 1974 to allow estimation of drug clearances in obese patients; researchers
have since shown that the metabolism of certain drugs relate more to IBW than total body weight.
The term was based on the use of insurance data that demonstrated the relative mortality
for males and females according to different height–weight combinations. The most common
estimation of IBW is by the Devine formula; other models exist and have been noted to
give similar results. Other methods used in estimating the ideal body weight are body
mass index and the Hamwi method. Devine Formula
Male Ideal Body Weight = 50 kg + 2.3 kg * - 60 )
Female Ideal Body Weight = 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg *( Height(in) - 60 )
Hamwi method The Hamwi method is used to calculate the
ideal body weight of the general adult. According to the Hamwi method that is used
by the Journal of the Council of Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation, a man who
is 5 feet tall should ideally weigh 106 pounds, and a woman who is 5 feet tall should ideally
weigh 100 pounds. For men : Allow 106 pounds, Add 6 pounds
for every inch over 5 feet. For women : Allow 100 pounds, Add 5 pounds
for every inch over 5 feet. Example : The ideal body weight of a male
whose height is 5 feet 10 inches is [106 +] = 166 pounds.
The Hamwi equation is for adults only. Average weight around the world
By region By country
Global statistics Researchers at the London School of Hygiene
& Tropical Medicine published a study of average weights of adult humans in the journal BMC
Public Health and at the United Nations conference Rio+20.
Estimation in children
A number of ways to estimate weight in children have been developed for circumstances when
actual weight cannot be measured. The most commonly used methods include guesses of the
child's weight by parents or healthcare providers, weight-estimation formulas based on the child's
age and tape-based systems of weight estimation. Some of the many formulas that have been used
include the APLS formula, the Leffler formula, and Theron formula. There are several tape-based
systems for estimating children's weight, the most well-known of which is the Broselow
tape. The Broselow tape is based on length with weight read from the appropriate color
area. Newer systems, such as the PAWPER tape, make use of a simple two-step process to estimate
weight: the length-based weight estimation is modified according to the child's body
habitus to increase the accuracy of the final weight prediction.
The Leffler formula is used for children 0–10 years of age. In those less than a year old it is
and for those 1–10 years old it is
where m is the number of kilograms the child weighs and am and ay respectively are the
number of months or years old the child is. The Theron formula is
where m and ay are as above. Usage
Sports Participants in sports such as boxing, mixed
martial arts, wrestling, rowing, judo, Olympic weightlifting, and powerlifting are classified
according to their body weight, measured in units of mass such as pounds or kilograms.
See, e.g., wrestling weight classes, boxing weight classes, judo at the 2004 Summer Olympics,
boxing at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Medicine
Ideal Body Weight, specifically the Devine Formula, is used clinically for multiple reasons,
most commonly in estimating renal function in drug dosing, and predicting pharmacokinetics
in morbidly obese patients. See also
Anthropometry Bergmann's Rule
Birth weight Body volume index
Hesse's Rule Human height
List of the heaviest people Obesity
Overweight Underweight
Weight loss and weight gain Weight phobia
References
External links http:www.scymed.comsmnxpn/pndfc237.htm - Online
calculator for Hamwi method