BMI-31

Almost 200 years ago the Belgian mathematician Adolphe Quetelet introduced the concept of the Body Mass Index (BMI), calculated with the formula ‘weight (kg)/[height (m)]²’. BMI is a deeply flawed tool, because Quetelet derived the formula from data based on European bodies only, thereby excluding other ethnicities. Moreover, it doesn’t measure how weight is distributed. Nevertheless, BMI is still widely used to determine if someone has a ‘healthy’ weight; stigmatising anyone outside the ‘normal range’. As such, BMI prompts body image issues, might misinform diagnosis, and can potentially even hinder patients from receiving proper treatment. With ‘BMI-31’ Rixt Izeboud made the ridiculousness of BMI visible by designing 31 ceramic jugs using the formula. The collection confronts viewers with the impossibility to compare and classify different shapes with one formula.