How often do you see your BMI when you go to the doctor’s office? How often is it the subject of conversation when you are there for something unrelated?
The truth is “does your BMI even matter?”
The short answer is NO, not for overall health and wellness. Simply put, doctor’s use it often is because it is simple. BMI is a straightforward calculation based on weight and height.
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a widely used tool to assess whether an individual’s weight falls within a “healthy” range based on their height.
However, BMI doesn’t show us the whole picture of health. Here are a few reasons why:
- It doesn’t differentiate between fat mass and lean body mass. Individuals with high muscle mass, such as athletes or bodybuilders, may have a higher BMI despite being physically fit and healthy.
- It doesn’t capture variations in body composition. Two individuals with the same BMI may have different levels of body fat and associated health risks.
- It doesn’t tell us anything about a person’s eating habits, activity or lifestyle. Someone could be living on a bag of potato chips and a bottle of gin every day and technically have a “healthy” BMI.
A Quick History Lesson on BMI:
The BMI measurement was originally created in the 1830s by a mathematician with a goal of defining characteristics of a normal man. This statement alone is enough to support the fact that many groups, such as older adults, children, pregnant women (and women in general), or individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds don’t meet the criteria to make this equation valid. Yet, it is used for everyone, regardless of defining characteristics.
in 1972, BMI was altered and adapted by Ancel Keys. He even stated he didn’t intend on implementing the BMI for medical use. He described it as a simple, obtainable measurement to be used for research purposes.
A person with a “normal” BMI may still have poor health outcomes if they lead a sedentary lifestyle or have unhealthy eating habits, the same as a person with a high BMI may be perfectly “healthy”.
BMI is a screening tool and should not be used in isolation to diagnose health conditions.
In fact, we encourage you not to use it at all if it creates stress or anxiety, much like body weight does for many people. After all, it is just a number. Contact us to learn more about how to measure your success in ways that don’t judge you based on your BMI.
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