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Body mass index is a science term that a lot of Americans worry about, and for good reason. Body mass index indicates a status of health determined by height, weight of individuals. According to the scales and measurements of this BMI tool, a score of 18.5 or below means your under weight. a score of 18.5-24.9 means your normal for your height and weight. a score of 25 - 29.9 means your over weight, and a score of 30 or higher means your an obese individual. Although  this tool is not full proof in detecting obesity, it can serve as a great indicator if an individual needs to make dietary  and better health changes.The BMI index rating of thirty (obese) can mean up to thirty pounds over weight.

BMI - Mathamatical Formula 

Body Mass Index equation:

BMI = [

weight in pounds              (height in inches) x (height in inches)

] x 703

For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds and is 5 feet 3 inches tall has a BMI of 26.5.

[

150 lbs.             (63 inches) x (63 inches)

] x 703 = 26.5

  
New research indicates that individuals who are considered obese and over weight are more likely to take  prescription drugs  versus those who are not obese. Most of the drugs are related to high blood pressure and high cholesterol which are both linked to obesity.
This is especially important when you consider approximately one third of Americans are obese. out of the ten types of drug classes, obese Americans where being prescribed eight of the ten.
Research also showed that," In addition to blood pressure and cholesterol drugs, medications for treating diabetes, asthma and thyroid problems, as well as antidepressants and painkillers, were taken by a higher proportion of obese people in some or all age groups."

Sexual hormone drugs were the only type of drug that had less obese people being prescribed them out of the ten drug classes. This study tested ten thousand individuals which is a decent sized sample.

Obese individuals aren't the only ones who are being prescribed a lot of medications. More than fifty percent of normal individuals according to the BMI index, use one or more prescribed medicines. Ninety percent of women over the age of 65 were prescribed at least one medication.Of those ninety percent of women, sixty six percent were prescribed three or more medications. Sixty-five years old were  an outlier in the data information because they are prescribed multiple medications regardless of weight.
This data suggests strong correlation between obesity and higher prescribed medications. So to restate that with more optimism individuals who avoid obesity have lesser tendencies to be prescribed medications because they are able to avoid obesity related illness such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol ratings.

Links

• http://www.aicr.org/reduce-your-cancer-risk/weight/tools_bmi_calculator.html?gclid=CKbjhMy86awCFYZ95QodM1-Olg
• http://news.yahoo.com/obese-people-more-meds-study-191606720.html