The test is based on the results of the Obesity Education Initiative launched by The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1991. Please find the overview of the results under this link:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_dis.htm This methodology to check the disease risk was endorsed in 2008 in a WHO report. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/44583/1/9789241501491_eng.pdf
