Adolphe Quetelet

327 South Smedley Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103-6717

Dear Sir:

I read with interest the supplement to the July 1999 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, entitled "Assessment of Childhood and Adolescent Obesity." Most of the authors used the body mass index as an assessment tool; Franklin used the Benn index. When Adolphe Quetelet proposed what is now known as the body mass index in his Physique Sociale in 1869, he indicated that it applied to adults (1, 2). During the developmental period of both sexes, the index was wt²/ht⁵.

It might be interesting to recrunch the numbers and see what results this produces. And, because what is now called the body mass index is rarely called Quetelet's index, let's honor the man who proposed both by naming the one for children and adolescents for Quetelet.

REFERENCES

1. Weigley ES. Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874): pioneer anthropometrist. Nutrition Today 1989;24:12–6.
2. Quetelet A. Physique sociale: ou essay sur le dévelopment des faculties de l’homme. Brussels: C Muquardt, 1869.