Question:hard

What value of BMI is considered "lethal" in men?

Show Hint

Men cannot survive below this BMI; women tolerate down to about 11.
Updated On: Jun 23, 2026
  • 12
  • 18
  • 13
  • 14
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Recall that BMI grades nutrition from morbid obesity at the top to severe wasting at the bottom, using $BMI = \frac{W}{H^2}$ with weight in kilograms and height in metres. The question targets the extreme lower threshold compatible with life. Step 2: Classic nutrition teaching gives a sex-specific minimum survivable BMI. For men this floor is 13 kg/m2, below which death from starvation becomes the expected outcome. Step 3: The corresponding figure for women is about 11 kg/m2; women endure lower BMIs because their baseline adipose stores are greater, providing a longer energy buffer. Step 4: Matching the male lethal threshold to the choices, the answer is 13, not 12 or 14. \[\boxed{13}\]
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