Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that the widely used Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement is less sensitive to define obesity than we thought
Researchers at Tel Aviv University found that the widely used Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement is less sensitive to define obesity than we thought
It’s sadly still used widely in the US… Many providers have brought up BMI with my clients when I was a caseworker for years, and sometimes I’d ask the provider questions to get them to admit it’s limitations in front of my clients when I felt it was appropriate. Sometimes a BMI rating is only useful in lowering someone’s self-esteem…
My insurance provider (in germany) asked for height and weight for disability insurance and my godaunt who was the salesman very heavily hinted to maybe fudge the height upwards and weight downwards a bit, and all I can think of is that they actually use bmi for risk calculations. Better not be muscular i guess.
I’m proud of you for stepping up when you could. It’s sad though that we still need to dispell it. In school it felt synonymous with shame.
It’s used because it’s much easier to measure then body fat. The easy ways to measure body fat like sending an electrical current through the body are very inaccurate and so not really better than BMI.
Really measuring body fat means getting into a large vat of water or having someone skilled do it with fat calipers.
It’s prevalent here too in the UK, used by the NHS very widely. Most people are aware that it can go awry, eg a 6’3 muscled rugby player would be considered obese using the BMI metric. I think as a general tool though it has some use (though people should be aware of its limitations)
The key indicator to me is that life insurance companies don’t bother with it. As soon as money is on the line, BMI of an individual is worthless.
When I applied for a policy they use my weight height and a chest to waist ratio to determine what sort of risk I was.