High School

What is the body mass index (BMI) of a patient who weighs 165 lb and is 5 feet 8 inches tall?

Answer :

The body mass index (BMI) of a patient who weighs 165 lb and is 5 feet 8 inches tall is approximately 25.09.

Let's break this down step-by-step:

1. Convert the height to inches:
The patient is 5 feet 8 inches tall.
Since one foot equals 12 inches, we can convert the height to inches by:


[tex]\[ \text{Height in inches} = (5 \text{ feet} \times 12 \text{ inches/foot}) + 8 \text{ inches}\\= 60 \text{ inches} + 8 \text{ inches}\\= 68 \text{ inches} \][/tex]

2. Convert height in inches to meters:
We know that 1 inch is equal to 0.0254 meters.

Therefore, height in meters is:


[tex]\[ \text{Height in meters} = 68 \text{ inches} \times 0.0254 \text{ meters/inch}\\\approx 1.7272 \text{ meters} \][/tex]

3. Convert the weight to kilograms:
The patient weighs 165 pounds.
We know that 1 pound is equal to approximately 0.453592 kilograms.

Therefore, weight in kilograms is:


[tex]\[ \text{Weight in kilograms} = 165 \text{ pounds} \times 0.453592 \text{ kilograms/pound}\\\approx 74.84268 \text{ kilograms} \][/tex]

4. Calculate the BMI:


BMI is calculated using the formula:


[tex]\[ \text{BMI} = \frac{\text{Weight in kilograms}}{(\text{Height in meters})^2} \][/tex]


Substituting the values we've calculated:


[tex]\[ \text{BMI} = \frac{74.84268 \text{ kilograms}}{(1.7272 \text{ meters})^2}\\\\\approx 25.0879 \][/tex]