Comparative Study on the

Body Mass Index between

Male and Female
Biology Students
Daniel Heo
Marc Junuel Romen
David Uhomoibhi

Introduction
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number
calculated from a person's weight and
height.
BMI is a fairly reliable indicator of body
fatness for people (but not for all). BMI
does not measure body fat directly, but
research has shown that BMI correlates to
measures of body fat.
BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform
method
of
screening
for
weight
categories that may lead to health
problems.

Weight Categories
Healthcare professionals around the world
often use Body Mass Index (BMI)when
determining whether patients are:
underweight
on a healthy weight
overweight
obese.
People who are clinically obese have a
greater risk of developing diabetes, stroke,
some cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

Introduction
BMI is used as a screening tool to identify possible
weight problems for adults. However, BMI is not a
diagnostic tool.
Itdoes not take into account the patient's body fat
content versus lean tissue (muscle) content. A 6 feet
2 inch athlete may have a higher BMI than a couch
potato of the same height - but the couch potato may
be overweight while the athlete is definitely not.
Trivia! Dwaine Johnson (actor and wrestler), at his
peak probably had a BMI nearing 30. However, he
would not be considered as obese or overweight
because he had a high muscle-to-fat ratio.

Computation
Metric system- Divide the person's weight in
kilograms by their height in meters squared.
For example:
Weight 90 kilograms
Height 1.9 meters
1.92= 3.61
90 divided by 3.61 = 24.93 kg/m2
BMI is 24.93

Interpretation of BMI
Below are definitions recommended by the
World Health Organization
BMI
BMI
BMI
BMI
BMI

less than 18.5 - Underweight

between 18.5 and 25 - Healthy weight
between 25 and 30 - Overweight
between 30 and 40 - Obese
over 40 - Very obese, morbidly obese

Trivia! In the Philippines, the average BMI of males

are 22.73, and for females is 21.96.

BMI Chart

Why BMI?
As biology students and future doctors, we should
be the first ones to be aware of our own health.
As we already know, BMI is a measure ofgeneral
health and is basedon height and weight ratio. If
BMI is high, one may have an increased risk of
developing certain diseases.
Besides from knowing our weight categories, we
can also know if whether we are at risk of any
disease.
The study wants to know if gender is a factor on
the BMI of Biology students.

Methodology

Sampling
Convenience Sampling
Non-probability
sampling
technique
where
subjects are selected because of their convenient
accessibility and proximity to the researcher.
Classmates
Friends on the same course

Collection of Data
Personal Interview
Texting
Chatting

Statistical Tool

Female

Male

BMI

Ranking

BMI

Ranking

17.2

30.5

37.5

19.5

21.1

15

18.0

20.1

10.5

20.0

8.5

29.0

36

21.5

16.5

23.9

30

21.8

19

22.0

22.5

25.5

34

27.8

35

21.9

20.5

21.9

20.5

18.3

22.1

24

23.1

28

32.3

40

21.6

18

22.3

25

19.6

21.5

16.5

20.0

8.5

21.0

14

20.1

10.5

23.3

29

22.0

22.5

24.2

32

20.2

12

30.5

37.5

20.8

13

22.4

26

18.7

25.0

33

31.2

39

24.1

31

19.2

22.6

27

T1=278
n1=20
n2=20
nx=20

Man-whitney test

T2=542

U=n1 X n2 + nx X (nx + 1)/2 - Tx

=20 X 20 + 20 X (20 + 1)/2 - 542
=400 + 210 542
=68
U=127 for two tailed test at 0.05 significance >68
U=105 for two tailed test at 0.01 significance >68
Therefore: there is a highly significant difference between
the BMI of males to females.

conclusion
From the data gathered, it is observed that at
least more than 55% of the population sample are
past the normal BMI ratio (18.5-25). This
concludes that there are many biology students
that are overweight.

recommendation
It is recommended that biology students
participate more in physically challenging
activities. These may include
Working out at the gym
Jogging
Yoga
Hiking
Sports
Anything that involves you increasing your heart
rate, makes you sweat and use energy

References
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/
adult_bmi
/
http://
www.bbc.com/news/health-18770328#G1A24H1
.58W42C167
http://
www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/what-isbmi.php
http://
www.sharecare.com/health/body-mass-index-bmi/
important-know-body-mass-index
http://
www.vertex42.com/ExcelTemplates/Images/bmi-cha