For instance, an athlete with much more muscle than fat can have a BMI in the overweight range.Īnother problem is that BMI, invented about 200 years ago by a mathematician in Belgium, was based on European white men and didn’t take into account that a person’s body fat also tends to vary depending on their sex, race, and ethnicity. That means it can be misleading in some cases. BMI also varies (because average body fatness varies) among people of different ages and whether they are active or sedentary. ![]() One reason is that a person with lots of muscle and minimal body fat can have the same BMI as a person with obesity who has much less muscle. Why is BMI controversial?īMI has been criticized as being an inaccurate tool. You can check a chart to determine whether your number falls into an unhealthy category-for instance, underweight is less than 18.5, overweight is 25 to 29.9, and obesity is 30 and above. The CDC describes BMI as a “screening tool” that is not intended to diagnose excess body fat or weight-related illnesses, such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides calculators that will perform this math for different age groups: There is one for adults ages 20 and older and another for children and teens ages 2 through 19. and is 5 feet 10 inches tall (70 inches total) would calculate their BMI as follows: If your calculator does not have a square function, simply divide weight by height twice.įor example, a person who weighs 200 lbs. Here's a formula to calculate it at home: ![]() When calculating your BMI using pounds and inches, you will need to multiply your weight by 703, a conversion factor. What, exactly, is BMI?īMI is a calculation-it’s your weight in pounds (or kilograms) divided by the square of your height in inches (or meters). Mehal three questions to better understand the AMA’s new policy on BMI. Doctors and patients are still free to decide if or how they want to use this tool. The AMA’s policy is not a mandate but a suggestion-and BMI is not likely to disappear, Dr. “All these things start to create a complete picture of a person’s overall health,” Dr. ![]() “BMI is just one data point, along with many others, that needs to be considered to determine a person’s health.” A comprehensive health assessment would also include blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose measurements, among other data. “The problem is not BMI itself, but the tendency to use it as a single focus,” says Wajahat Mehal, MD, director of the Yale Metabolic Health & Weight Loss Program. One issue is that BMI was developed based on the bodies of non-Hispanic white men it may not provide consistently accurate results for people who fall into other categories of sex, ethnicity, and race. In June, the American Medical Association (AMA) pointed out how BMI falls short and adopted a new policy encouraging doctors to avoid relying on BMI alone to diagnose obesity. A chart will show whether that number classifies you as being underweight, at a healthy weight, or having overweight or obesity. Anyone can go online and find a free BMI calculator, plug in their weight and height, and get back a number. The helpful thing about Body Mass Index (BMI) is that it is a quick, accessible, and low-cost measure, based on your weight and height, used to determine if you are in a healthy-or unhealthy-weight range.
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