[R] Image processing in R for BMI calculation

[T. A. Milne]

"Body Mass Index" is a rather bizarre thing:body.mass.in.kg / height.in.m^2I have never been able to find any biologicalor physical meaning for this.  Yet cliniciansare solemnly advised to measure the weight tothe nearest 0.1kg and the height to thenearest 0.1cm.How do you propose to determine the weight froma single image?  Even an R package cannot perform magic.On Mon, 1 Mar 2021 at 05:39, Paul Bernal <paulbernal07 using gmail.com> <mailto:paulbernal07 using gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello everyone,Does anyone know about any package for image processing, for example, tocalculate body mass index pased on a picture, silouette or image.Any guidance will be greatly appreciated.Best regards,Paul
>

A quick search with the terms "BMI flawed" produces an enormous list of hits pointing out the problems with BMI as an index.  Here's one from a dozen or so years ago:

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106268439

And a quote from that piece:

"The BMI was introduced in the early 19th century by a Belgian named Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet. He was a mathematician, not a physician. He produced the formula to give a quick and easy way to measure the degree of obesity of the general population to assist the government in allocating resources. In other words, it is a 200-year-old hack."
As an index of obesity in individuals, BMI has some glaring flaws.



- T. Arthur Milne