Body Mass Index should be replaced, experts argue
A new study compares body mass index (BMI) with body fat percentage and finds the latter is far more reliable in predicting obesity-related diseases and death
Body mass index (BMI) is a rough proxy for body composition widely used to predict a person’s risk of poor health outcomes, including early death — but BMI is an unreliable metric that does not actually predict risk of death, new research suggests.
The study, published June 24 in the journal Annals of Family Medicine, found that BMI could not reliably predict mortality risk from any cause.
However, body fat percentage, an alternative measure of body composition, was found to be far more accurate, showing a clear correlation to individuals’ risk of death.
“Ultimately, the current definition of obesity needs to change to one that is based on body fat percentage,” said senior study author Dr. Frank Orlando, the medical director of UF Health Family Medicine.
That could change how anti-obesity medications, such as Ozempic-style drugs, are prescribed, Orlando told Live Science in an email, as many people who might be at risk due to high body fat do not qualify for treatments based on BMI alone.
An imperfect measure
There are several ways to assess body composition, though none are as cheap and easy as BMI, which uses a person’s height and weight to calculate an indirect measure of body fat.
It categorizes people as having underweight, normal weight, overweight or obesity.
“The assumption is that if you weigh over a certain amount for your height, you’re potentially carrying around excess body fat,” said Adam Collins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Surrey in the U.K. who was not involved in the new study.
“By association, that excess body fat is increasing your risk of disease,” Collins told Live Science.
See more here livescience.com
Bold emphasis added
Editor’s note: I can attest to the BMI scale being an ‘imperfect measure’. I am short and stocky, but according to the BMI scale, I an ‘obese’, which is plainly ridiculous, as I played American Football for 17 years.
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