Automated Body Mass Index Assessment Device

Sedentary lifestyles of many individuals have made them prone to many health risks ranging from diabetes, High Blood Pressure (HBP), obesity and other cardiovascular diseases. One simple and smart way of verifying a risk factor is a knowledge of the Body Mass Index (BMI) of an individual. This project aimed at designing and developing anAutomated Body Mass Index Assessment Device to measure and display the BMI of persons. BMI is calculated using the knowledge of the mass or weight in Kilograms and height (squared) in square-meters of the individual. This device is composed of a MHT1, miniature high-capacity compression force transducer which is the load cell, which converts the compression force of the weight to electrical signal, and a HCSR04 ultrasonic sensor, a distance sensor with the ability to sense objects 13 feet away for the height measurement. These data are routed to the Arduino Nano microcontroller in which the algorithm for the BMI calculation has been programed using C++. The calculated BMI is channeled to the LCD for visual display with prompts for possible action. Application results shows very accurate outputin comparison to approved conventional methods of BMI measurement.