There’s one place where BMI is useful, and that’s in research. Getting enough sleep, focusing on mental health, having a quality diet, and building exercise into your routine are all important in supporting metabolic health, no matter the number on the scale. Overall, losing weight is very challenging for the vast majority of people. found that nearly half of the participants with a BMI in the overweight category and 16% of those in the obesity category were, in fact, metabolically healthy when they took part in the research.Īnd at the same time, a BMI in the moderate weight category doesn’t automatically mean that a person has good metabolic health.īy focusing solely on BMI, it’s easy to overlook other measures, like waist circumference, and many of the important behaviors that contribute to good health. BMI and metabolic healthīeing in a bigger body doesn’t automatically mean that a person has a higher risk of chronic health conditions or is metabolically unhealthy.Ī large study of over 40,000 adults in the U.S. Two people’s body compositions - their lean muscle mass, bones, and body fat - can be vastly different, even if they weigh exactly the same.Īlso, much of the research that went into establishing the BMI categories harks back to “the average man,” and more specifically the average European white man.īy excluding women and people of color, the BMI categories fail to accurately represent humanity’s diverse range of body shapes. But BMI doesn’t necessarily work at the level of the individual.Ī higher weight, and by extension a higher BMI, can result from a number of factors.īMI doesn’t differentiate whether your body has more lean muscle than fat mass, or vice versa. And scientists can use it to study large populations. We’ve already mentioned that BMI correlates moderately with body fat. This puts nearly half of the population in the overweight or obesity categories.īut does a higher BMI really mean that you and almost 50% of other people have a greater risk of chronic health conditions? The average BMI in most Western populations is 24, just below the top cut-off for a moderate weight. Health departments across the world now use the BMI’s weight categories, but these are increasingly coming under scrutiny. Yet the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company’s tables prevailed in the United States as the most common measure to define obesity - until the WHO published their weight categories, based on the BMI, in 1995. He championed the use of the Quetelet Index as a better alternative and coined the term BMI. Ancel Keys, from the University of Minnesota, highlighted these mathematical flaws in a seminal paper. In other words, your BMI is a rough estimate of whether your weight falls within the moderate range, based on your height. If they think a person’s BMI indicates a greater risk of chronic health conditions, they’ll perform additional tests to assess this risk. So, healthcare professionals use BMI instead.īut a healthcare professional can’t use BMI alone to make a diagnosis about someone’s health or the amount of fat their body carries. However, it’s difficult to measure body fat. More on that later.Īccording to the WHO, “Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.”Ĭarrying excess fat, particularly belly fat, can on average increase the risk of chronic health conditions, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. The BMI weight categories as determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) are:īetween 18.5 and 24.9: healthy or moderate weightīMI correlates moderately with body fat on average, though this isn’t true for everyone. Scientists and healthcare professionals can use it to estimate whether a person’s weight is within a moderate - or healthy - range, or if it falls below or above this.įor example, if you weigh 145 pounds and you’re 5 feet 4 inches tall, your BMI is 24.9. What is BMI?īMI is a number that’s calculated by dividing a person’s weight by their height squared. You can take our free quiz to find out more. With our personalized nutrition program, you can learn how to eat for your unique body and your health goals. In this article, we’ll take you on a whistle-stop tour of how BMI was developed, its uses and flaws, and why your health and weight aren’t defined by one simple number.Īt ZOE, we know that nutrition plays a fundamental role in good health. If you’re concerned about your weight or BMI, work with a healthcare professional to figure out the best weight range for your body and health. And losing weight is more complex than simply eating less. And there are other ways to assess our weight and - more importantly - our health.
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