The body mass index or BMI has been widely criticized for being a flawed way to measure Obesity. Now, a group experts are sharing their new recommendations.
The BMI is a Formula which uses a person’s height to weight ratio in order to determine whether a person is underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. It is not, however, a direct measure for body fat.
In a report published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Journal on Tuesday, more than fifty experts suggested a new method for medical professionals to diagnose and define obesity, which places less emphasis on BMI.
The new guidelines still use BMI for a first-pass screening, but they also look at other measures to determine if a person is pre-clinical or clinically obese, according to Dr. Celine Gunder, CBS News’ medical contributor and editor in chief of KFF Health News. She spoke on “CBS Mornings“, Wednesday.
What does that mean? Do you have extra fat? Gounder explained that there are three ways to measure this.
1. Waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio: “If your waist is greater than 35 inches in a woman’s case or 40 inches in a man’s, then you have extra fat or you are apple-shaped or pear-shaped?” Gounder said.
2. Directly measuring the body fat: “Some older woman may be familiar with a DEXA to check for osteoporosis or bone thinning. Gounder added that the DEXA test can be used to determine body fat.
3. How does your weight affect your everyday activities? “Can you go up and down the stairs?” She said that if you are unable to do so because of your weight then this would make you clinically obese. Do you notice damage to your kidneys, heart, or organs due to obesity? This would be clinical weight gain.”
The authors of the report stated that 76 organizations around the world, including scientific societies, patient advocacy groups and other medical associations, have endorsed the updated recommendations. However, it is not known how quickly or widely they can be implemented. The report acknowledges the challenges of implementing these recommendations, both in terms of cost and staffing.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention BMI is a “cheap and easy screening method”, which is “strongly associated” with weight-related health conditions. BMI is under increasing fire in recent years. Critics have criticized the method for being not only unreliable, but also sexist and racism.
BMI measures how much you weigh in relation to your height. Not every six-foot man with the same weight will be obese. Some of these guys may be ripped, muscular men versus someone who is overweight or obese. We’re trying our best to differentiate between these two,” Gounder said.
The BMI scale cannot tell the difference between muscle and fat, so many professional athletes would be considered clinically overweight.
