Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A key index for relating weight to height. Abbreviated BMI. BMI is a person’s weight in kilograms (kg) divided by his or her height in meters squared. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now defines normal weight, overweight, and obesity according to BMI rather than the traditional height/weight charts. Overweight is a BMI of 27.3 or more for women…

(BIID) A psychological condition in which the individual actively seeks an elective amputation. Individuals with the disorder have the persistent desire to have their body physically match the idealized image they have of themselves. This desire forces individuals to deal with the paradox of losing one or more limbs to become whole.

Excessive concern about one’s appearance. Some concern about one’s appearance is normal. But an obsession with one’s appearance is not. Body image obsession is also called body dysmorphic disorder. The condition carries a high risk of suicide. Drug treatment can be lifesaving.

A type of hearing aid that comprises a rectangular case carried on the body connected by cords to earmolds. A body hearing aid are generally reserved for the most severe hearing losses. It is not often used and is the least common style of hearing aid today.

The physique or body build. For example: “The metabolic complications most commonly reported (with HIV infection) are hyperlipidemia, hyperglycemia and altered body habitus.” The term “body habitus” is somewhat redundant, since habitus by itself means “physique or body build.”

A seemingly simple method for determining the lean body mass. Abbreviated BIA. There are two methods of the BIA. One involves standing on a special scale with footpads. A harmless amount of electrical current is sent through the body, and then the percentage of body fat is calculated. The other type of BIA involves electrodes…

A seemingly simple method for determining the lean body mass. Abbreviated BIA. There are two methods of the BIA. One involves standing on a special scale with footpads. A harmless amount of electrical current is sent through the body, and then the percentage of body fat is calculated. The other type of BIA involves electrodes…

A psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined defects in physical appearance. It is classified as an anxiety disorder, and it is believed to be a variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Also known as somatoform disorder and dysmorphophobia.

The total mass of all the cellular elements in the body which constitute all the metabolically active tissue of the body. There is depletion of the body cell mass (BCM) that is characteristic of wasting of the body common with chronic diseases such as AIDS and terminal cancer. The BCM includes muscle tissue, organ tissue, intracellular and extracellular…

A method for determining the lean body mass. The BOD POD is a computerized, egg-shaped chamber. Using the same whole-body measurement principle as underwater weighing, the BOD POD measures a subject’s mass and volume, from which their whole-body density is determined. Using these data, body fat and lean muscle mass can then be calculated.