Learn more about body mass indexes. How to calculate ideal weight using Broca's formula What is Broca's index

Ideal weight in people's understanding, this is a different value. For one person, optimal body weight is ribs protruding through clothing, for another it is the exact opposite. Everyone has their own idea of ​​their dream figure. But the imaginary ideal weight may not coincide with reality. Imagining myself as a person with perfect figure, you can be very wrong.

Both excess weight and deficiency lead to serious disorders. Lack of body weight leads to dystrophy, which, in turn, affects internal organs and is negatively associated with their work. Excess body weight negatively affects the blood supply to all organs. Due to the development of atherosclerosis of the arteries, the supply of oxygen to organs and tissues decreases, and the risk of developing various diseases increases.

To determine what weight is optimal for a particular person, there are many formulas. They determine the body mass index (BMI).

Ideal weight calculation options

For a long time people have been trying to find a formula for calculating their ideal weight. It should show the optimal weight of a person. At the same time, the measurement should be simple and fast.

The most commonly used calculation is: 100 or 110 (for women) is subtracted from height in centimeters. The resulting figure is a subjective indicator and does not take into account body type, age, or other body features.

How to Calculate Broca's Body Mass Index

Broca's BMI was derived in the 19th century. The formula was created by a doctor from France, Paul Broca, and is suitable for people with a height of 1.55 to 2 m. The index takes into account 2 body types of a person. Here we can talk about the individual characteristics of a person. Everyone's body composition is different, the formula takes this factor into account. There is also a drawback: the Broca index does not show the degree of obesity.

The formula at the beginning of the study suggests choosing 2 body types: asthenic or muscular. Then, using the formula IB = height (in centimeters) - 100 - 5, for the muscular type, IB = human height (in centimeters) - 100 - 10, for the asthenic type - we get the body mass index. The calculation is quite simple and takes into account only one variable - height.

To obtain more accurate data, it is better to use a different formula.

BMI according to Quetelet

The question of how to calculate body mass index arose in the 19th century with the Belgian scientist Adolphe Quetelet. To understand what weight should be ideal for a particular person, he developed a special formula. How to calculate body mass index? Very simple.

BMI = weight/height 2 .

This formula is used by all doctors to determine the range normal weight a specific person.

Body mass index for women and men is determined similarly. The formula does not take into account either gender or age-related changes.

Calculation using the BMI formula

It can be seen that the resulting index for an adult will depend only on body weight. For example, you can calculate the BMI of an imaginary person. His height is 1.6 m, weight is 60 kg. It turns out 1.6*1.6 = 2.56, BMI = 60/2.56 = 23.43.

The resulting coefficient shows that the weight of this person is within the normal range. The formula can be easily applied to anyone.

BMI interpretation

The result obtained is deciphered using a special scale. It shows the odds intervals.

A reading of less than 18.49 means a lack of mass. If the resulting coefficient is less than 16, this is a critical weight deficit. The result obtained indicates possible disorders in the body.

From 18.5 to 25 - the indicator is within the normal range. For most people, this is the optimal weight.

From 25 to 30 - you are overweight. For men, 25-27 is considered the norm.

From 30 to 35 - 1st degree of obesity. This indicator can occur both in athletes and in overweight people.

From 35 to 40 - 2nd degree of obesity. I am overweight. Or the person whose BMI was calculated is an athlete with very developed muscles (bodybuilder).

From 40 and more - obesity of the 3rd degree. Significantly overweight or an athlete with developed muscles.

Whatever the result, you need to remember that the formula was created for mass research. The result of the calculations is the body mass index. Anyone can calculate it (men or women will do it, it doesn’t matter). But the result does not reflect the full picture.

If you take athletes as a standard and determine their body mass index (calculate), men will be surprised, because the results obtained will show different degrees of obesity. The athlete's body weight will be rather large. All of them have developed muscles, which, with smaller volumes (compared to fat), weigh much more.

BMI results

The coefficient does not show the composition of the human body, but reflects only the overall picture. How to calculate body mass index to take into account the composition of a person’s body? It is necessary to use other research methods.

BMI can be the same for completely different people, different gender and age. They can have different amounts of fat and muscle, but the indicators will be the same.

Body mass index (for women it is calculated in the same way as for men) does not take into account age-related changes, body type and body composition.

Other research methods

To determine body mass index more accurately, the formula must be more detailed and reflect all possible variables, primarily gender.

At home, in addition to BMI, you can estimate the size of the skin-fat fold in the abdominal area. To do this, you need to pinch it in the navel area with two fingers. The thickness is measured with a special tool - a caliper. If it is not there, then the thickness of the fold can be assessed visually. Normally, it should be approximately 2 cm. A complete examination with a caliper is carried out along 3-5 folds. The results are evaluated using a special formula.

Any measurement involves an error. It is present in all existing formulas, because they are created for mass use.

Psychological assessment of BMI

All experts recommend not using various indices to determine weight and appearance. If the reflection in the mirror is pleasing, but the measurements show a deviation from the norm, then this will negatively affect mental health. Possible consequences- low self-esteem, depression, lack of self-confidence.

It is worth assessing your lifestyle yourself. If your daily diet includes healthy foods, and physical activity is not in last place, then your own BMI is the optimal value.

One should always use objective judgment when interpreting various tests that are designed to standardize all people.

Extra pounds - not only aesthetic defect, but also an indicator of health problems, so every person needs to be able to calculate their normal body weight. One of the most popular algorithms used by nutritionists is the Paul Broca formula, developed in 1871 and used in most online calculators.

How to calculate ideal weight using Broca's formula

This method of determination normal indicators weight is known to most as “height minus 100”, while the main parameter is taken in centimeters, but the formula itself is more accurate and requires taking into account the gender of the person:

• The weight norm for women in kilograms is “(height (cm) - 100) * 0.85.”
• The weight norm for men is calculated as “(height (cm) - 100) * 0.9".

Broca's formula is not universal - it is not suitable for very petite (up to 155 cm) or tall (from 170 cm) people. It does not take into account indicators that affect high-quality composition body: muscle weight, fluid, bone tissue. According to experts, there is no point in calculating normal weight using Brock’s formula:

• pregnant women (the weight of the child, placenta, amniotic fluid is added);
• nursing (breasts are heavier due to milk);
• bodybuilders (muscle is heavier than fat);
• adults over 50 and teenagers under 18.

Constitutional body type

In medicine, an important parameter for determining normal body weight is body type: the totality of the proportions and structural features of a person, the development of muscle, bone and fat tissue.

According to the modern method of somatotyping, there are 3 types of constitution:

• Asthenic – the muscles are weak, the limbs are thin and longer than the body. The result of the calculation using the classical formula needs to be reduced by 10%, so the new algorithm for calculating normal body weight for women is “((height - 100) * 0.85) * 0.9”, and for men “((height - 100) * 0 .9) * 0.9".
• Normosthenic – the dimensions are proportional, the musculoskeletal system develops harmoniously. Normosthenics perform calculations using the classic Broca formula presented above.
• Hypersthenic – short limbs, wide waist, narrower chest. Muscle and fat mass are gained well, the latter often becomes excessive. Adjusted for the structural features of the body, the result of the basic calculation increases by 10%, so normal values ​​for a woman are calculated using the formula “((height - 100) * 0.85) * 1.1”, and for a man - “((height - 100 ) * 0.9) * 1.1".

You can determine your type by measuring the girth of the wrist at the narrowest part or by calculating the difference between the length of the legs (from the tubercle of the femur to the heel) and half the height - all parameters are taken in centimeters. Values ​​for different types body composition is as follows:

• Asthenic - wrist less than 14 cm in women and 17 cm in men, legs 2-4 cm longer.
• Normosthenic - wrist girth is 14-18 cm in women, 17-20 cm in men, and legs are 4-6 cm longer.
• Hypersthenic - all indicators are greater than those of normosthenics: wrist girth exceeds 20 cm in men and 18 cm in women, legs are longer by 6 cm or more.

Broca's index based on age

Some nutritionists advise taking age into account when making calculations, since in people over 40 years of age, energy consumption decreases, metabolism slows down, and body weight increases. In adolescents, the body is developing, the metabolism is fast, and with a deficit of kilograms, according to the results of standard calculations, the physique itself is normal. Calculate correct weight according to Broca, taking into account age, it can be subtracted from height.

Goal: find out what the “Brock’s formula” is and how to calculate your ideal weight using it.

Tools: centimeter, scales.

Can be found a large number of formulas of ideal weight and necessary slimness of a person and truly great amount diets However, we should not forget that, for example, Hollywood or French beauty standards are completely unsuitable for residents of more northern and colder countries. After all, we not only have different climatic conditions and food traditions, but even different genetics.

The most common and well-founded is Broca's formula, which takes into account the relationship between a person's age and his weight. This calculation suits most girls and women. A normal physiological process is gradual weight gain. So not all “extra” kilograms in your understanding are actually that way. For women under 40 years of age, Broca's formula is as follows:

Your height in centimeters minus 110.

For women over 40 years old, the formula takes the form:

Your height in centimeters minus 100.

Thin people should subtract an additional 10% from the result obtained, and those with a massive physique, on the contrary, should add 10% to the result obtained.

A weight that differs from the ideal by no more than 5% is considered normal. Both excess and underweight are hazardous to health. If you are overweight:

1. from 6 to 14% - refers to non-critical overweight, you can get rid of it yourself;
2. from 15 to 29% - first degree obesity, which can be overcome without the help of specialists, the main thing is not to be lazy, reconsider your diet and physical activity;
3. from 30 to 49% - second degree obesity - it is better to do physical therapy under the supervision of a trainer, it would be good to contact a nutritionist;
4. from 50 to 99% - third degree obesity - you must definitely use the help of a specialist;
5. from 100% and above - a very large load on the heart - it is recommended to register with an endocrinologist and work with a nutritionist under his supervision.

Being underweight can also bring a lot of benefits negative consequences, and severe deficiency of body weight is dangerous for human health and life.

Perhaps, by assessing your weight in accordance with this formula, you will be convinced that it is time to end the constant process of losing weight and dieting, and that your weight is optimal for your age and height. But medicine reminds us especially persistently that in order to properly and healthy get rid of kilograms, you need to have special knowledge in this area. Therefore, before engaging in active weight loss, you should consult your doctor. For weight loss, an important factor is not only a decrease in energy intake from food, but also an increase in the expenditure of this energy. This means that you need to increase your physical activity, which will help you burn fat more effectively than when you experience new diet, and practically do not move.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been good at math, so calculating my ideal weight using complex formulas has always been a big problem for me. However, my torment ended only when I became acquainted with Broca’s formula, which allows special troubles calculate ideal weight indicators for different weight categories.

However, first, it is better to get acquainted with the main body types, since this factor also affects the final result of the formula.

Three body types:

• Asthenic: long face, thin nose, long and thin neck, narrow shoulders, flat and narrow chest, Long hands and legs and muscles are poorly developed; with the asthenic type there is a minimal tendency to be overweight.
• Normosthenic: harmonious figure, thin waist and slender legs; usually average weight.
• Hypersthenic: heavy and wide bones, wide and short chest, slightly shortened arms and legs, voluminous shoulders; height, usually below average; there is a high tendency to be overweight.

Method for determining body type:

Determining your body type is very simple: you just need to measure your wrist at the narrowest point.

Results for women:

• up to 14 cm - asthenic type;
• from 14 to 18 cm - normosthenic type;
• from 18 cm - hypersthenic type.

Results for men:

• up to 17 cm - asthenic type;
• from 17 to 20 cm - normosthenic type;
• from 20 cm - hypersthenic type.

There is another way to determine belonging to a certain body type - the ratio of height and leg length. Leg length is measured from the tuberosity of the femur (opposite the hip joint) to the floor.

The ideal length should match the following parameters:

• asthenic type: legs are 2-4 cm longer than half the height;
• normosthenic type: legs are 4-6 cm longer than half the height;
• hypersthenic type: legs are 6-9 cm longer than half the height.

Ideal weight according to Broca's formula

So, Broca’s formula (the French surgeon and anthropologist Paul Broca developed it back in 1871) sounds like “height minus 100” and is by far the simplest and in a fast way determining the amount of excess weight.

The calculation formula is simple:

• “height minus 100” (for height up to 165 cm)
• “height minus 105” (with height 166-175 cm)
• “height minus 110” (for height over 175 cm)

Why then do you need information about your body type?

• for asthenics, the resulting value should be reduced by 10%;
• for hypersthenics - increase by 10%;
• normosthenics do not need to add or decrease anything.

As an example: 3 women of the same height (165 cm), but different builds. This means, according to the formula “height minus 100” - 65 kg. But, based on the constitution of each of them, the final results will differ from each other:
asthenic type: 65kg - 10% = 58.5 kg;
normosthenic - 65 kg;
hypersthenic: 65 kg + 10% = 71.5 kg.

There is another indicator that should be taken into account when calculating weight using Brock's formula - age. Experts claim that Broca's index is ideal only for women 40-45 years old. Girls 20-30 years old need to reduce the resulting figure by 10%, and ladies over 50 need to increase it by 5-7%.

And yet, experts assure, no formulas can reflect individual characteristics a person and his state of health, which means you should not blindly believe the results obtained. Calculating the ideal weight using Brock's formula is not worth it, for example, for pregnant women, people under 18 years of age, bodybuilders and athletes who are purposefully building muscle mass.

Since the advent of Broca's formula, science has developed modern techniques determining the recommended weight. One of them is bioimpedance analysis of body composition. It can be used to determine the ratio of water, fat and muscle in the human body. In addition, this technique allows you to very accurately determine excess and lack of body weight. Based on the data obtained, specialists decide to review a person’s diet and the need to increase his physical activity.

At least once a year, every self-respecting girl wants to do something with her figure. At the same time, before your eyes there is a certain vague concept of an ideal that must be achieved at all costs. What is the ideal weight for a certain height? By the way, both women and men are very interested in this. Will try to understand the variety of methods for calculations.

Starting point

There is a theory according to which the ideal weight should be considered the one you had when you were 18 years old. But this does not mean that this figure should be steadily strived for. In addition to age and hormonal changes, a person’s weight is affected by energy expenditure. At a young age they are higher, but every 10 years - with a general decrease in physical activity - energy consumption decreases by about 10%, and weight increases in proportion to the same percentage. It is impossible to get rid of excess suddenly. So that they don’t later come back and grab kilo friends in addition. You need to strive for a real and completely achievable ideal, which will be indicated by one of the formulas below.

When playing sports, you need to take into account natural weight fluctuations. Muscle weighs more than fat, so don't be surprised when the weight goes up instead of down after the gym. The result will be a sculpted, slender body.

Each of the listed methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. We'll talk about them too.

Body mass index

Often, decisions that it’s time to change something about your figure are made based on BMI data. As soon as the weight ceases to fit into what is indicated in the table, either actively eating cakes or racing with the wind on an exercise bike immediately begins. Calculating this index is simple:

Weight in kg / (Height in m * 2).

We compare the results against the table

Are you up to standard? So, according to the formulas, run diagonally. No? Then we will calculate what the weight should be.

Solovyov index

Before starting mathematics, you need to stock up on a sufficient amount of initial data. Check your height, remember your age and measure your wrist at the thinnest point. This is how bone volume is determined, from which the famous physician Soloviev derived the concept of three body types:

Asthenic: less than 18 cm in men, less than 15 cm in women.
Normosthenic: 18-20 cm in men, 15-17 in women.
Hypersthenic: more than 20 cm in men, more than 17 cm in women.

Lorentz formula

X-100-(X-150)/2

Or a simplified version:

where X is height in centimeters.

The obvious simplicity of the method has both a positive and a negative side. The Lorenz formula does not differentiate people by type (asthenic, normosthenic, hypersthenic), does not take into account age and the presence physical activity. The result can be considered quite average.

Broca's formula

In their youth, everyone calculated their ideal weight according to Brock:

X-100 for men,

X-110 for women, where X is height in centimeters.

As you can see, here the result will also be averaged, since no parameters other than growth itself are taken into account.

Scientists have slightly modified this formula, proposing to multiply the result obtained as a result of subtraction by a factor of 1.15:

(X-100)*1.15 for men,

(X-110)*1.15 for women.

In this form, the formula began to look more like reality. For example, if previously the weight of a woman with a height of 168 cm “should have been” 58 kg, then according to new calculations (168-110) * 1.15 = 66.7.

Considering that people stop growing around the age of 18-25, the old formula would stubbornly return you to how ideal you were many years ago.

Broca-Brugsch formula

The previous formula was modified taking into account body type and non-standard height. So, hypersthenics add 10% to the form, and asthenics subtract 10%. As for growth, they now propose to calculate it as follows:

Less than 165 cm: X - 100
165-175 cm: X - 105
More than 175 cm: X - 110.
Already in this form the result is more optimal. So, a girl with a normosthenic physique and a height of 168 cm should weigh: 168-105 = 63 kg.

Cooper's formula

(X * 3.5/2.54-108) * 0.453, for women,

(X * 4.0/2.54-128) * 0.453, for men,

where X is height in centimeters.

Egorov-Levitsky table

You don't need formulas to find out your maximum weight limit for your height. At the intersection of height, gender and age, a number is indicated that should not be crossed.

Perhaps, this table can only be reproached for the fact that the minimum weight limit is not indicated. However, it will be useful for those who do not want to carry around extra pounds. The table takes into account everything except body composition. It can be considered one of the most balanced approaches to computing.

Bornhardt Index (1886)

where X is height in cm, Y is chest circumference in cm.

Devin formula

45.5 + 2.3 * (X - 60) for women,

50 + 2.3 * (X – 60) for men,

where X is height in inches.

Miller's Formula (1983)

Miller made changes to Devin's existing mathematical formula, which did not use anything other than statistical data. It was used for correct calculation doses of medications. In order to determine your ideal weight using Miller's formula, you will need to know your height (in inches):

53.1 + 1.36 * (X - 60), for women,

56.2 + 1.41 * (X - 60), for men,

where X is height in inches.

Kref's formula

Based on Broca's formula, but with the addition of body type and age:

(X-100 + (Y / 10)) * 0.9 * Z,

where X is height in cm, Y is age, Z is a coefficient depending on body type.

Coefficient = 0.9 for wrist circumference less than 15 cm

Coefficient = 1 for wrist circumference from 15 cm to 17 cm

Coefficient = 1.1 for wrist circumference more than 17 cm

In principle, the approach is quite correct, since it takes into account the basic parameters.

Nagler's formula

This formula takes into account height and gender, but excludes weight and age.

45.3 + 2.27 * (X - 60) for women,

where X is height in inches.

Küttl formula (body mass index)

It is this method of calculation that is recognized by doctors all over the world:

BMI = weight (kg): (height (m))2

The obtained result is compared with the data in the table:

Mohammed's Formula (2010)

This formula uses only height for calculations:
X * X * 0.00225,

where X is height in cm.

Robinson's Formula (1983)

The formula looks like this:

49 + 1.7 * (X - 60) for women,

52 + 1.9 * (X – 60) for men,

where X is height in inches.

Opponents of the formula argue that it is incorrect for men.

Monneroth-Dumain formula

It takes into account the Solovyov index and growth for calculation:

X - 100 + (4*wrist circumference))/2,

where X is height in cm.

Formula Humvee (1964)

This is what online weight calculators on the Internet “use”:

45.5 + 2.2 * (X - 60) for women,

48 + 2.7 * (X – 60) for men,

where X is height in inches.

All the variety of formulas gives different results with the same initial data. Perhaps they can be combined by saying that the ideal weight is a healthy weight. One that does not cause inconvenience to you personally and does not lead to the appearance of various diseases.