Should We Retire BMI?
Many readers appreciated my column this week on the paradigm shiftunderway in health care to address obesity as the root cause of other chronic conditions. Some raised specific questions, which I’d like to discuss in this week’s newsletter.
“I can find you dozens of experts who do not think obesity should be diagnosed based on body mass index,” wrote Katie from Minnesota. “Can we replace this outdated notion with a better measure already?”
I thank Katie for bringing up the limitations of BMI. Because it is based solely on weight and height, someone with a lot of lean muscle mass could have a BMI in the range of being considered overweight or obese. Someone else with a “normal” BMI could have an unhealthy ratio of muscle to adipose tissue, making them less metabolically healthy.
Excerpted from the Washington Post
