BMI-31

Almost 200 years ago the Belgian mathematician Adolpohe 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 makes the ridiculousness of BMI visible by designing 31 ceramic jugs using the formula. The collection confronts viewers with the impossibility of comparing and classifying different shapes with one formula.